Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have scoliosis and wore a Boston brace as a teen---my curvature is in the 25-30 degree range. There probably isn't much you can do to correct curvature that's already present, but I agree with everyone above who suggests that he focuses on core strength. I had a lot of issues with back pain as an adult that I believe was a result of my scoliosis and the after-effects of years of bracing. I started doing barre and pilates regularly about a decade ago, and that pain has completely resolved since.
Bracing corrects it as they grow (I mean OP's kid might have too small a curve to bother, IDK) but the braces definitely are evidence based.
Certain types of braces can also correct existing curvature while the teen continues to grow. The "old time" braces only prevented worsening.
Seems more of those old-time braces have evolved into more modern corrective devices. Some, however, are designed for night-time only (laying down positions). The Rigo-Cheneau (which my son used) is used day and night and also uses CAD imaging instead of body casts to design the custom fit. Our son began with 28 degree curvature. Corrected in brace, he was 6 percent (and out of brace 16 or less). He was told he could just wear it at night at that point; but unfortunately, we were unable to enforce his continued use for as long as he should have (he was a bit of a behaviorally challenged kid), so he ultimately grew several inches and the curvature increased to 24 degrees. He came to regret not wearing it for longer when he was joining ROTC and was afraid they would not accept him because of the degree of his curvature. I continue to emphasize proper posture and core exercises for him.