Dynamic Brace System Decreases Scoliosis

A revolutionary bracing system reduces scoliosis while improving muscle function, and without the use of a hard brace.

The Spinecor brace, a product of The SpineCorporation (Derbyshire, UK) is a breakthrough treatment for idiopathic scoliosis utilizing a dynamic corrective brace (DCB), clinical-assistant diagnostic software (SAS), which guides the therapist through the fitting process, and postural measurement equipment (Freepoint). It is prescribed for patients with a Cobb angle of 15-50° and a Risser sign of 0-2. Fitted elastic bands replace the hard shell brace used for so many years. The sequence, direction, and tension in each band are carefully selected to allow the use of natural muscle activity to reduce the scoliotic deformity immediately.

The brace is prescribed to be worn by the patients 20 out of 24 hours per day until they have reached maturity, with radiologic evaluations performed prior to and immediately following the fitting of the brace, and every four to six months afterwards. The four-hour out of brace period should be taken in two or more intervals during the least-active part of the day. The length of treatment depends on the severity of the curve, age at start of treatment, and its evolution, but it is always a minimum of 18 months. To accommodate for growth and postural changes, corrective bands are changed frequently (four to six bands per year). However, major brace components can last from 1.5-2 years.

Unlike a supportive device that may de-weight the spine and reduce the contribution from surrounding muscle tissue, Spinecor uses movement and increased muscle activity to change the spine by global postural re-education, causing progressive correction over time, which leads to extremely stable post brace weaning.

Scoliosis is a lateral (sideways) curvature of the spine associated with rotation, so that, in the thoracic spine, the ribs on the convex side are displaced backwards. It is very common, with 25% of the population having some degree of spinal asymmetry in childhood. Cobb angles of over 20° occur in one to two per thousand boys and four to five per thousand girls. Sixty-five percent of all cases are idiopathic (cause not known).



Related Links:
The SpineCorporation