New Approaches We're Offering for Advanced Bracing

In this episode, Dr. Mandy gives an inside look on the new approaches she offers at her clinic for advanced bracing for scoliosis patients. Listen in to learn more and be sure to check out the links below for more information!

*****Resource Links You Need:

• Contact Dr. Mandy's office to learn how to work with her by calling (701) 223-8413 or email her at [email protected]. 
• Free Online Screening Tool: https://app.scoliscreen.com/
• Find out more about ScoliBalance® at https://scolicare.com/patients-scolibalance.
• Find out more about ScoliBrace® at https://scolibrace.com.

 *****Transcript*****

  Welcome back. Today we are talking about some advanced bracing options that we have in our office. As most of you know, we have been talking about ScoliBrace® since we started using it over 10 years ago, and   ScoliBrace® is a hard brace that we use in our office. It's specifically made for each patient.

Um, we have a lot of tools and resources that we have to offer that aren't available at other places. And so I just wanna share a little bit, uh, today about what we've been doing the last couple of years specifically, um, and how we use ScoliBrace® um, how we've changed some of the approaches, um, to utilizing this type of brace when it's appropriate and things like that. Um, so if you've listened to any of our previous episodes, uh, you know that bracing is something that we use when it's appropriate, and it's really important to have the right. Recommendations at the right time and that we look at the whole picture.

Um, there's sometimes a small window in a scoliosis case, um, especially with adolescents. So if your child is between the ages of, you know, 10 and 14 and they have a scoliosis, um, sometimes there can be a short window that we really need to jump on the opportunity to be able to take care of that in a timely manner.

So we're gonna talk about that just a little bit. Um, but first I just wanna reintroduce you to the ScoliBrace® . So I started using ScoliBrace® over 10 years ago at this point. Um, I had looked into different types of braces. There's a lot of different options. If you go onto Google and type in scoliosis, braces, you're gonna see a lot pop up.

What I really like about the ScoliBrace® is that there's research behind it. Uh, there's a team of people that have been utilizing this, working with this, uh, clinically with patients and. It provides correction for scoliosis. So it's a, an actual 3D over corrective brace. So when we fit you for this brace, we're using um, a 3D image.

So we have the patient stand and we create this 3D image. Um, and it's. It's almost like if you are familiar with 3D printing, I'm sure almost everybody has heard of 3D printing at this point in time. Um, where you can put stuff into a computer and it prints something. Right. Um, so similar to that, the technology obviously is, is way more involved.

Um, but so you can kind of understand what that looks like. We're not using plaster, we're not, um, simply just taking, uh, measurements of your spine. It's an actual 3D image. Um, and we use posture, uh, photos and we also use very specific measurements during our exam as well as your x-rays, uh, so that we can get a brace that's made specifically for you that's over corrective, that can stop progression and provide correction in the appropriate cases.

Um, so we utilize that the most, I would say. With kids, especially if we're worried about progression and we're wanting to be proactive and get correction. However, we use this brace in a lot of other, um, places as well. So when I first started doing this, we didn't work with a whole lot of adults with bracing, and as I started to continue to do this type of work, we started to realize that there's a lot of adults that.

Didn't have care, didn't have access to care, or maybe they had care and then their scoliosis continued to progress. And so we started utilizing this brace for adults. Um, as I continue to practice and the goals are a little bit different, but we've seen really great results, um, in adult populations as well, um, as the adolescent populations.

And I wanna talk a little bit about the different types of braces. Um, the reason is, is because over the last few years I've done a lot of additional training, um, advanced brace training. Really learning how, you know, the brace that we're using isn't necessarily different, but it's the application of the brace.

It's how we implement it, it's what types of cases we use it in. And really being able to learn from the ScoliCare team and the ScoliBrace®, um, clinicians and having them kind of pour into us and share their resources so that we can better use the brace, um, that we have available to us. And so it's really changed how we've.

Been able to implement it in different scenarios for different people. So one of the things is, is that this is really a custom brace. If, if you're getting a brace, um, depending on where it's from, and this is where, you know, it's hard because if you go to, say. A facility at one hospital versus another hospital.

Um, different brace, uh, providers build their braces a little bit differently. Um, there's a lot of different kinds and, and not that it's necessarily bad, it is just to say that, um, if you're at a different place with a different provider in different scenarios, the same patient might get a different brace where.

Everything from ScoliBrace® is standardized, meaning that it goes to the same team, the same team builds it, and so it's reproducible, you know, it's not going to vary one day versus the other because they have the same team and the same facility and the same people working on it, um, so that it is reproducible so that it is, um, implemented in the same fashion with the same technology.

Uh, with the same expertise every single time. And then when the brace comes to us as providers, we're able to take the knowledge that they give us and to be able to. Utilize that brace in different ways, depending on what our goals are. So sometimes that goal might be when you're young, preventing progression and preventing surgery.

Um, sometimes that that goal might be delaying surgery safely. Um, making sure that we don't get progression. But instead of doing surgery at say, 10 or 11, you know, pushing that out to allow a child to grow so that they can have that surgery at 15 or 16. And we work with the surgical team on that as well.

Um, sometimes that goal might be as an adult, um, creating stabilization. So say you're an adult that has, we'll just say, you know, a scoliosis from when you were a kid that maybe has degeneration and instability, um, things like that. But you're not a candidate for surgery. Or you don't want to have that surgery.

Oftentimes the brace can provide that stability so that you can enjoy a better quality of life that you can, you know, move forward with hopefully, um, less pain and that we can prevent progression as you age. So that's a different type of goal as well. Um, so not only are these braces made for scoliosis and different types of scoliosis, but these braces.

Are also made for kyphosis. It's also made for, um, degenerative spines. There are specific braces that we make differently. If you have a really high curve, like up in your upper back or your low neck, um, those braces are gonna look different than say. A brace. If somebody's got a really low back curve, um, the kyphosis braces are gonna look a little bit different.

And that's really the beauty of it. You know, there's a different type of brace for different types of spinal conditions, so. The technology comes from the same foundation, but the braces are made very individually and it's tailored to you. And I can honestly say, you know, the patients that come in, we don't have the same brace twice.

You know, we're not, we're not providing the same brace every time you come in just because they've grown. Um, even a patient that say has an initial brace and they've outgrown. That brace and they need a new one. When that next brace is made, it's made off of new 3D scans, new x-rays, and it's over corrective in the way that their spine is in that moment, um, to help them get the best correction.

So I. It's really been interesting to see over the last 10 years how bracing has impacted different patients, what we've been able to do with those braces and even noticing and being able to identify like, where do we need to be in this window of time so that it can best benefit our patient, um, and learning more about it as we go.

Uh, there's uh, a whole finesse to working with adult scoliosis patients because the technology that we had 20, 30, 40 years ago. Was not like it is now. And so the options that we have available to us are really, um, expanded. They, we have way more resources, way more ability to, um, help you address that and to be able to really give you your options, um, whether that might be.

A brace, whether that might be, uh, part of rehabilitation program or oftentimes, I would say most often now that we have it available, um, patients are doing both, uh, a rehabilitation program along with the brace. Um, and that has really helped as well. Uh, one of the things that I realized I didn't mention in our last episode when we talked about ScoliBalance® is, um, we use the rehabilitation program to aid in our brace wear.

So essentially what that means is. You know, as you can imagine, um, just like if you put braces on your teeth, when we have a brace that we need to get into for our back when we first put it on, our body's not used to that. And so there's, uh, a wearing period where, um, we have like a 30 day protocol to get into your brace full-time.

And the ScoliBalance® program is really helpful for that because we start the program before the brace gets here so that your spine's more flexible. That, um, you're already knowing some of your corrections, so then when the brace comes and you put it on, it's not such a drastic change. And so we utilize these things together, both for adults, for, you know, super young children.

Like we've got children, you know, 7, 8, 9 years old. Um, we have a lot of kids in between the ages of 10 and 15. Uh, but then we also have a lot of adults that we're working with as well. So the advanced bracing is really important to know because having the right brace at that right time is important. If you have a brace that's built for you or for your child, that's not addressing the concern in your spine appropriately for an adolescent, if you're in that growth period.

If we don't have the right brace. Or even I would say if we have the right brace, but the child's not wearing it within a three to four month period of time, we can have quite a bit of progression, especially if it's a, a higher level curve. And so it is really important to be asking the questions. So it doesn't matter if you're at my office or if you're at an orthopedic office, or Mayo Clinic, or Shriners University of Minnesota, wherever you might be.

Talking about these things to be able to ask the questions, um, about, you know, is a brace necessary? If, if yes, you know, why? What are, what are the benefits of having a brace? Or why is this brace needed? And also, if they say no. So if they say, you know, no, a brace isn't needed right now, ask those questions.

Why, why is that recommendation being made? Um, because you'll get different answers from different providers. So taking a step back as a provider into kind of my parents' shoes, I really encourage parents to ask questions, um, because oftentimes it can be easy to assume that we would get the same answer regardless of where we go.

I have found as a provider that that is not always the case. Different providers will have different, um, opinions. They'll have different takes on it. They typically function within a certain specific, um, set of guidelines, but the interpretation of the guidelines is different. So even if somebody's saying, no, you don't need a brace, then I would ask those questions, you know, why is that recommendation being made?

And if you are being. Recommended a brace, then asking those questions, um, what type of brace are you recommending? You know, what has this been shown to do? Um, why do we think this is the most appropriate, uh, type of brace? And how is that going to address the concerns, whether that's in your spine or your child's spine.

Um, and they should be able to pretty easily answer those questions and to be able to talk through those things with you. Um, one of the things that I have been noticing and. A lot of patients go to a lot of different facilities, so it's not specific to, you know, one, one hospital, one clinic, or one one brace provider.

Um, but one of the things that I've noticed is the curves that are really high up in, in somebody's back. So like in your lower neck or bet like high between your shoulder blades. Those are some really difficult curves to address because the brace doesn't always go up into that area. And so. Building a brace for those types of curves can be a little tricky because you have to address certain things in there.

And so when you are sitting with your provider and they're making those recommendations, really asking those questions, um, we've had, uh, braces that we've used in our clinic, um, that I've been really impressed with how they've addressed those types of areas. Um, and a lot of conditions that we would, I wouldn't have thought years ago that we would be able to address with a brace.

And we've seen some really positive results. Um, so the bracing world is changing, the technology is changing, and the 3D brace that we have is really amazing. I've seen amazing results across, um, lots of different patient populations for a lot of different goals on a lot of different reasons. So if you're a family and you have.

Somebody in your family, whether that's your child, yourself, um, or even a relative that's kind of walking through this, um, there's no harm in getting. Multiple opinions, whether you get two different opinions or three different opinions. Um, and just kind of digging in a little bit about, you know, how do they do this?

How do they go about it? It can be pretty overwhelming when you get a scoliosis diagnosis. And so it can sometimes be easy just to do the thing that the first person recommends, and sometimes that's appropriate. And also it's okay to be able to gather information. To be able to make a decision, you know, relatively quickly, um, within a, a few weeks or within a month or so of diagnosis, depending on where that severity lies.

Um, but to be able to ask those questions. If you're a provider in the area, I know there's been some conversations with patients that I've had where we're coordinating with different providers or maybe a new provider that I haven't worked with before and they're really unfamiliar with the type of brace that we have to offer.

Um, I really highly recommend, I love having conversations with other providers about what we offer, why we do that, what we've seen, um, because that really just allows. Us to open the door to more opportunities to other families. And we work with a lot of different providers in the sense of we do the evaluation and the analysis, um, and the examination specifically for scoliosis patients or even kyphosis patients, any sort of spinal disorder that, um, for spinal diagnosis that we are looking to intervene with or to help quality of life with.

And then we coordinate with that provider. So the other providers provide their care, and we are very specifically working with the scoliosis piece, and then communicate as necessary to make sure that we're reaching the goals that that are important to you. So obviously, if it's a young child, it's about.

Trying, preventing surgery, getting correction, making sure that they're growing healthy and that we're, um, doing those interventions when we need to. Um, and then, as you know, older kids and adults to make sure that they have a quality of life that they can enjoy and that they can do the things that they wanna do on a day-to-day basis.

So. Um, these pieces are things that we bring in as, as they're appropriate and as they're necessary so that we can help our patients and our community. Um, and the other piece of that is that then, you know, we don't have to travel long distances either. So that's a huge benefit, especially for families who are working that have lots of kids.

I mean, really anybody, right? If you don't have to drive 400 miles for care and you can get quality care right here at home, you know, that's really, um, a benefit to everybody involved. So. We are always happy to answer questions. Um, one of the things that we've been offering to our community and to, um, people being referred to our office is a discovery call.

So if you have a question. Or if you're not sure if our office is right for you, um, what we have you do is we have you fill out, um, some questions, a couple of forms, and if you have x-rays or other images, we have you send them to us and then we jump on a call. So, um, myself, uh, we'll reach out to you and we'll chat for 10 or 15 minutes and just see if it's something that we can help you with and if it's not something that's appropriate for our office.

We'll be able to direct you to where you need to go. So I feel like that has really been a game changer for us to be able to, uh, communicate with patients because sometimes it's not always something that's needed. And then sometimes it really is, but it's not being, um, communicated that way by other providers.

So we're happy to help in that way. Um, if you're a provider with a question, uh, same thing, just reach out. We love to have those conversations. We've got some episodes coming up next. Over the next few months, it's gonna go into a little bit more detail about. Specific things about scoliosis, what you need to, uh, watch out for, what you need to look for, things like that.

And then just some exciting updates about our office, what we have coming up this fall. So I encourage you to tune in. Um, go to our website for more information. Uh, it's uh, behind the brace.com, and we will talk to you next time,

Thanks for spending time with me today. If you could leave a review before you go, that would help us reach more people that need this message. To learn more about the services and resources that we have available, visit us at www.behindthebrace.com.

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