Our doctor tells us surgery for scoliosis can be avoided by wearing a brace full time for several years. How can we convince our 13-year old daughter to keep her brace on as much as recommended by her doctor?

You may have to depend, in part, on your physician to help explain bracing as a treatment option for scoliosis. Right now, it is considered the standard of care for curves between 30 and 45 degrees.

Most children are treated for scoliosis, So it’s hard to compare results for patients with and without treatment. In fact, there are only two reported studies on the rate of surgery in patients who haven’t been otherwise treated for scoliosis.

Surgery rates were between 16 and 28 per cent. That’s about one in every three children. And we don’t know the predictive factors yet. Predictive factors are those things that, when present in a patient, suggest failure or success of a treatment.

The one predictive factor that has general agreement in the treatment of scoliosis with bracing is for girls. Female patients with scoliosis have a better result when bracing takes place before their first menstrual cycle. This doesn’t mean that bracing after menses begins can’t help.

We really need more studies to prove once and for all whether bracing does or doesn’t work and which patients get the best results. Until then, children and their parents should be given as much information and encouragement possible to give bracing a chance.