Scoliosis is a disorder in which the spine is curved in either an S or C shape. The most common type of Scoliosis is idiopathic, which is the one that I have. Idiopathic means that there is no exact known cause. With a curved spine, you may have uneven hips and waistline, or tilted shoulders. A lot of kids are diagnosed through doctor's physical examinations. Once diagnosed, treatment may vary depending on the severity of your case. Nonsurgical treatment can be either close observation or bracing. The other and only option, when your curve passes 40 degrees, is scoliosis surgery.
Now that you have the basics, I'm going to explain how I dealt with wearing a scoliosis brace for a little more than three years from ages 12-16.
I was diagnosed with scoliosis in late 2010 during a regular physical examination for school. A few days later, I was getting crazy x-rays to decide which treatment was needed. After a few weeks of fittings, I was given my custom scoliosis brace, made of plastic and hard cushion pads on the inside, which was to be worn for 23 hours a day. It was closed by four velcro straps on the back. I had to walk in the city immediately after receiving the brace, and I felt as if I was going to pass out after one block. It takes a lot of getting used to.
In order to feel comfortable wearing a brace, you need a good support system from everyone but mainly from your friends at school, since you are there for most of the day. I had to ask a lot of my friends to help carry my book bag due to not being able to take the weight on my back. They all reassured me that no one could see the huge hump under my sweater that was clearly very visible. There were tears in the bathroom because I could not really move or breathe properly the first few weeks of wearing it. Throughout the transition from middle school to high school, I got much more comfortable with it and sometimes forgot that I had it on. It is SO vital to not become stagnant throughout your growth in the brace.
Aside from a good support system, you need to be reliant and comfortable within yourself. It is incredible to feel that people are there to help you, but I am not one who accepts any to little help for anything. Also, other people aren't fully understanding of it because they are not wearing a super tight brace. If you have a brace, you need to learn how to say "okay, I have to wear it and it will be fine." I could not bend to pick up items that I dropped or even pop down to tie my shoe. It was extremely frustrating but I asked for help and then quickly learned to adjust to doing it myself.
Although this title includes "23 Hours A Day", that does not mean I followed directions. I definitely did not wear it for the allotted time I was supposed to. I would sometimes hide it in my closet or wear a big hoodie to make it seem like I had it on. I was lucky enough to have my curves go down, but you should not follow what I did. If you need to wear a brace, please wear it as much as you are supposed to and exercise on the side as well. It only betters your health.
I could go on and on about my journey with scoliosis, but the point of this article is to explain my story of wearing a brace and give some examples of how you could potentially help your friend who wears one. It is a very complicated situation at first but we all get used to it! We are not called "Scoliosis Warriors" for no reason. Anyhow, I say that my S is for "Superwoman."
