My Bracing Journey

When my mother was younger, she was diagnosed with scoliosis when the curve of her spine was over 50 degrees. This left her with only one option: surgery. Since scoliosis is known to be genetic (in some cases), my mom was concerned I'd suffer the same fate, so she'd occasionally check my back for signs and symptoms.

Eventually when I reached eighth grade, my mom noticed a hump on one side of my back. On our next visit to the doctor's office, my pediatrician confirmed what my mother had been concerned and suspicious of my whole life; I had scoliosis. While this discovery shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise given my mom's history, it still impacted us as a family nevertheless. 

My pediatrician then referred us to an orthopedic doctor who would advise me on what to do next. After a few x-rays he told us that the best course of action at that time was to get fitted for a back brace. The brace that was designed for me had three velcro straps which were attached in the front (allowing me to take the brace on and off or adjust it without too much difficulty). Unfortunately, my orthopedist also told me that I would have to wear this brace 16 hours a day! While I was excited about being able to pick a cute print for my back brace, I was not excited for its constant use. At the time I was a part of the swim team and in my school's band, which only made me more concerned about the amount of time I would spend in my brace.

Getting fitted for the brace

Back brace design pattern

When my brace finally arrived, I dreaded my first day of school, knowing I'd have to wear it. I was expected to wear uniforms at my middle school, but luckily I wore hoodies to school every day, which covered my brace perfectly. While I was able to visually blend in with the rest of the crowd, (my classmates  were obsessed with wearing their hoodies too) my constant hoodie use did not stop me from receiving questions whenever someone would brush by and feel hard plastic. I tried to tell as few people as possible about my back brace, not necessarily because I was ashamed of it (even though that definitely did play a part), but mostly because I didn't want to engage in awkward conversations with even my closest friends.

Me with my brace

During band practice, I would loosen the straps of the brace before the period started or tolerate my limited lung volume. Then as the school day ended, I would walk to the swimming pool, take off my brace, stuff it into my backpack (it was a tight fit) and change into my suit. While middle school was an experience of its own, I found myself falling into more of a routine with my brace as I reached high school.

During my freshman year, I decided to focus on band and quit the swim team. I found myself planning my outfits around the days that I wore my brace to school. This experience gave me much more appreciation for the days that I could actually wear a nice outfit, as opposed to the sweatshirt and leggings combination I would wear on brace days. As I was getting settled into the year, Covid-19 hit and I ended up completing the rest of my freshman and sophomore years from home. While quarantine interrupted many aspects of my life, the bracing situation was not one of them. Staying at home all hours of the day allowed me to wear the brace without concern of adjustments for band practice.  While Covid -19 was frustrating, I was grateful not to endure much pain throughout my time using the brace either.

When I wore my brace, I always made sure to tighten it as much as I could, but this was mainly when I was at home. When I first wore the brace, my back and the surrounding muscles would feel a little sore every time I did this, but as time went on I grew used to this feeling. Every time I tightened the brace and I felt sore I knew it was because I was containing the curve. While I knew that the brace was not capable of lessening the curve, and was only meant to stop it from growing, in my mind whenever I tightened the brace to its maximum capacity it was as if I was making the curve smaller. 

Over the course of the two years it was recommended I use the brace, I made sure to wear it for at least 16 hours a day. Yet towards the end of my sophomore year, my doctor told me that despite my constant use of the brace, my curve had increased and was now 50 degrees, indicating that surgery was required. 

While I was disappointed that my time using the brace did not save me from surgery, I was glad that I had done everything possible to prevent myself from needing it. I had no regrets about what I could have done to end up in a different position and that made me feel free.  Everyone's scoliosis journey is different, so the most important things to remember are to listen to your doctor, trust those who know and love you, and embrace the brace!