Scoliosis

[elenem]

I have read that there are adult braces for scoliosis, and while wearing one can't undo the degree of scoliosis you have, it can keep it from getting worse. I have PD; I exercise and lift weights under the direction of a physical therapist, but my scoliosis has gotten much worse in just the last few months. I'd love to find a brace that I could wear part time, especially when I'm tired and the effort to stand up straight is just too much (I have mild kyphosis as well). Even though I live in a town with a major university hospital and I've seen research from there that talks about adult bracing, I can't find any doctors who actually provide non-surgical care for adult scoliosis. I have no idea where to go to get advice on wearing a brace and to be fitted with one if it's appropriate. There are lots of braces sold on the web, enough to feel overwhelmed. Some of them are very expensive, too, and I believe that I could get some help in buying the right brace from Medicare if I were referred by a doctor.

[Hidden]

You may find this useful. It is not specifically for scoliosis, but some people with scoliosis have found it helpful and it doesn't cost anything to find out if it helps!

youtube.com/watch?v=Tv6IOZa...(Not working as expected?)

youtube.com/watch?v=UBDH5zx...(Not working as expected?)

Art

[elenem in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. The exercises look useful and he’s fun to watch—very upbeat.

[Hidden in reply to elenem]

If you look around the web regarding this method, you will see that there are chiropractors who specialize in this procedure, but charge fairly high prices to do it. He is showing how to do it yourself for free! If you look further you will find people with scoliosis who say it has helped them.

Art

[johntPM]

I too have bad posture caused by PD.

You may be interested in an app that I've built. This uses your smart phone to continuously monitor your lean and stoop and to warn you when your posture gets bad. This is free and can be found at:

parkinsonsmeasurement.org/t...

The phone is "worn" on top of the head, under a tight fitting ski hat to keep it in place. It has only been run on Android phones, using a Chrome browser.

I don't know what the long term effect of using this device will be. So, use at your own risk.

John

[elenem in reply to johntPM]

Thank you! I’ll give it a try. It’s generous of you to make it available for free. .

[Hidden]

Have you ever tried an abdominal compression band? Home Health and drug stores carry them. (In the compression sock area). I picked one up to help with controlling abdominal muscle rigidity, but it seems to help with posture and scoliosis as well. My scoliosis never bothered me before but after losing a bunch of weight, it feels like I am sitting on a rock. The band seems to support my back bone and redistribute some of the pressure. If you sew or know someone who does, you could probably design one inexpensively. I cut some control top pantyhose off to use and that works.

Good luck.

[elenem]

Thank you. Sounds promising--and inexpensive!

[TomandDon]

My mother at age 95 got a scolibrace. In 3 months she was about an inch taller and standing much straighter. It was expensive, but worth the cost in the opinion of all her children, Here is a link for clinics around the world: scolibrace.com/clinics/

Here is a link to a short video comparing the scolibrace to conventional bracing. youtube.com/watch?v=y2BK1HF...(Not working as expected?)

Although he is talking pediatric bracing it worked very well for my mother.

[elenem]

Thank you for the information and link!