This website was made to help those who must wear a scoliosis brace deal with its difficulties. I wore a Boston brace beginning ninth grade through the end of tenth grade for sixteen hours a day. I know that simply the idea of bracing can be hard to swallow at first. I was pretty shocked when I found out I had to wear a brace. Although lots of kids go through scoliosis hardships, it felt like I was the only one. There wasn't anyone I knew that could relate to my situation. But with time, I did get used to my brace, and it really didn’t seem that bad at all. I was very surprised by how natural it felt after awhile! Though what I wish I had and believe would've made everything a whole lot easier is the option to talk to people who could relate to my situation. By commenting on these blogs you can discuss topics such as scheduling your hours, logistics, clothes etc. If you have any questions or feedback for me about this site, you can either blog on one of the entries or contact me at rcs712@optonline.net. I hope this helps!!

By the way, when you want to submit your comment, you don't have to fill in your name and e-mail address.

                              

Since the brace stretches from the underarm to the lower back, you may be wondering how you are going to find clothes to conceal it.
If I wore sweatpants (like the Juicy style) then I could wear any shirt I wanted and could still cover up the brace. However, if I wanted to wear jeans over the brace, (which was most of the time) I would have to wear a shirt long enough to cover it. Luckily, long shirts are in style. I was able to find plenty of shirts I liked.
This was especially convenient in the winter because a lot of them were warm sweater types or long sleeve shirts.
My school is cold all year round, so in the spring and summer my outfits didn’t change much. However, I would suggest that you wear a camisole or tank top under the brace. That way, it won’t be as warm as the ones provided. You could wear shorts or capris with stretchy waists so that you can wear them over the brace. You could also wear jean type material with a long shirt on top.

While you’re wearing the scoliosis brace, the school is very willing to help you feel as comfortable as possible. Here are a few things they allowed me to do:
-have an extra set of books so that I wouldn’t have to carry them a lot in the brace
-get out of class 5 minutes early so that I wouldn’t get bumped in the halls
-opt out of gym
I got a doctor’s note and showed it to the nurse who then gave me a pass to show my teachers. I e-mailed my them to explain my situation and then showed them the nurse’s note in school. They were very understanding and cooperative.

Although the beginning is tough, there are a few tricks you can use to make this adjustment period easier. In time, the brace will become routine.

First, you have to wear something under the brace. You could buy some of the thick tank tops that the brace companies sell. These help with the soreness and redness. Once your brace doesn't hurt as much, you can switch to a regular cotton tank. These are also especially convenient in the summer because you won't get as hot as you would with the thicker ones.

I also found it helpful to ease into wearing the brace. At first, my doctor marked the straps at a looser level so that I could get used to it. Additionally, I didn't wear it for the full 16 hours right from the start. Instead, I'd wear it for an hour or two and then I'd tried sleeping in it. For sleeping and wearing a brace, I put a pillow under my back and two under my head, to make it more comfortable. Or you can try buying a foam ramp (it looks like a 3D triangle), placing it under your back and piling pillows up to the right height for your head. I'd also listen to my ipod a bit to relax and get my mind off of my brace.

You could also give yourself little incentives to keep on track. You could tell yourself that if you can manage to sleep in the brace the entire week, then you can watch an extra hour of TV on the weekend, or something similar to that. This way, in a couple weeks, you'll be wearing it as tight and for as long as you're supposed to. After about a month, you'll be perfectly adjusted to it. Also, give yourself something to look forward to when get the news that you don't need a brace anymore. This is a big day and you should reward yourself for all your perseverance. Believe me, you'll be proud of yourself when it's all over.

In the beginning when I wasn’t wearing the brace the whole school day and when I had sports right after school, I had to arrange where and when I would take the brace off.

taking it off during school: I carried a sports bag into school big enough to fit my brace and put it in my locker until I needed to take the brace off. If your locker isn’t big enough, you can leave it with the nurse or office. I took my brace off after lunch in the nurse’s office. If you need help to take it off, she can help you. I then picked it up at the end of the day. However, in second semester, she had meetings in the afternoon. I rearranged things by dropping the brace off in the office after I took it off in the nurse’s office. They let me keep it there until the end of the day and were very supportive. If anything like this happens to you, you can similarly rearrange your schedule.
When I was more comfortable with taking the brace off by myself, I took it off in the bathroom. It was more convenient since the bathroom was closer to my locker. I then kept the brace in my locker for the rest of the day.

taking it off for sports: I carried the same sports bag to school and kept it in my locker. I took the brace off at the end of school in the bathroom or in the locker room if there weren’t that many people around. I put it in the bag i carried my basketball clothes in. Then, I’d go to practice like usual.

going to the bathroom in a scoliosis brace: A lot of people have questions about this so I figured I'd mention it. I took my brace off before going to the bathroom and put it back on right after. During school, I'd have the nurse do that for me but it became more convenient to do this myself though.

When I first started wearing the brace, I had to figure out how to get my 16 hours in each day. You can adjust these schedules to fit your hours requirements. I worked out different schedules based on sports and other activities I wanted to avoid wearing it during. I had 3 main schedules I’d use:

At night and at home:
10:30pm-6:30am: sleep with brace on
6:30am-3:30pm: no brace
3:30pm-10:30pm: wear brace at home
At first, I liked this schedule because I didn’t have to deal with wearing it during school. However, this was unrealistic because it left me no time for sports. I also had to do homework with it on. I quickly changed to the next schedule. However, this one may be perfect for someone who does not play sports and doesn’t mind doing homework with the brace on.

At night and partially during school:
10:30pm-6:30am: sleep with brace on
6:30 am- 12:15pm: go to school with brace on and take it off right before lunch
12:15pm- 8:15pm: no brace
8:15pm- 10:30pm: wear the brace before sleeping
What’s good about this schedule:
- didn’t have the wear the brace for the entire school day
-could also play sports after school and get most if not all of my homework done without wearing it
-used this after I was somewhat comfortable with the brace or when I just didn’t feel like wearing it the whole school day
When using this schedule, I coordinated how to take off and pick the brace up at the end of school. The nurse was very supportive and let me use her office to take off the brace and store it there until the end of the day. When her schedule changed so that the nurse’s office was locked at the end of the day, the main office was very supportive as well. They let me keep it there until the end of the day instead. The next year, I also found that my locker was just big enough to keep the brace. I then found it more convenient to take the brace of in the bathroom and store the brace in my locker until the end of the day.

At night and during school:
10:30pm- 6:30am:  sleep with brace on
6:30am-2:30pm:  go to school with brace on
2:30pm- 10:30pm: no brace
I liked this schedule because I worked out the timing so that I could play sports and didn’t have to do homework with the brace on. By this time, I was used to wearing it during school and didn’t even seem that uncomfortable. I also preferred this schedule because the hours seemed to pass more quickly since I was focused on school.

At first, I didn't want people to notice I was wearing the brace. If you’re feeling the same way, you have nothing to worry about!
I told my best friends because I knew they’d understand what I was going through. They wouldn't make a big deal out of it. When people would ask about it, I’d informally tell them what it was. To prevent the conversation from becoming awkward, I'd briefly mentioned the perks that come along with brace. People were completely ok with it. Some even replied, “Oh my god, you get to opt out of gym and leave class 5 minutes early. That’s so cool.” Everyone was really understanding of what I was going through. No one gave any negative responses.

When I cleaned my Boston Brace, I wet a washcloth with rubbing alcohol and rub it on the brace. I'd do this about once a week, which I found worked.

Also, since the straps were velcro, sometimes lint or threads would get caught, or the material would wear. My brace doctor would replace the straps every time I had an appointment (about every 3 months).

If you have a different type of brace, ask your doctor if the same rules apply.