- 13-year-old male
- Initial Cobb angle 28º
- Risser 0
This parents of this 13-year-old boy with scoliosis initially followed the “watch and wait” advice until his scoliosis progressed 10 degrees in a short time at which point his previous doctor recommended “immediate bracing.” The doctor ordered a “modified 3D Boston brace” at a local hospital. The family waited five weeks for delivery of his brace. The patient’s mom described the brace as “large, rigid, and hot.” Worse yet, this young man was unable to tolerate wearing the brace for more than an hour at a time, and after a time ultimately flat-out refused to wear it.
His mom knew she needed to find another solution. Her son still had substantial growth potential and his scoliosis was caused or complicated by a leg length discrepancy. When she brought him to Scoliosis 3DC®, his primary Cobb angle measured 28º. We measured him for a Chêneau style brace and fit him in the brace within the week! This patient and his mom were both elated at how wearable his brace was compared to his previous brace. She reported he was able to sleep in his new brace for the entire first night the first night he had it!
Currently, this boy’s scoliosis measures 13º out of brace (less than the angle at the time of his initial diagnosis and a more than 50% scoliosis improvement!).
This is a situation that could have deteriorated quickly with continued mismanagement. However, this boy’s excellent result can be attributed to his compliance with brace wear, integration of the protocols we teach in our Schroth method instruction and the right medical management of a leg length discrepancy.
