Scoliosis

^[1]
Westcoast Brace & Limb specializes in the orthotic treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The challenge with bracing is the inability for the physician, orthotist, and parents to guarantee that the adolescent is wearing his or her brace 23 out of the 24 hours in a day. Since it can be difficult to keep an adolescent in a brace full-time, there has been the development of a few underarm scoliosis braces, including the Charleston Bending Brace and the Providence Scoliosis System, that are worn only while the patient is sleeping. These nighttime braces may not be options for all adolescent scoliosis patients, but they can be very effective for those with less severe curves.

The Providence brace, which was developed in 1992 as an alternative to the Charleston Bending brace, is fabricated with modern CAD-CAM computer techniques rather than plaster castings of the patients.

While it may take some time for the patient to get comfortable sleeping in a nighttime brace, studies show that compliance is much greater than for a full-time brace. The Providence brace generally is more effective for patient’s with curves under 35 degrees. Depending upon the physician and orthotist’s evaluation, some patients with curves over 35 degrees may be candidates for the Providence brace, but if they are not, there are a variety of other options to help treat the scoliosis and appease the patient wearing the brace.