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Abstract

A variety of back braces are used to treat scoliosis, but there is no data that shows that one brace is the most effective or the most preferred by patients. Moreover, little data is available on how different types of scoliosis braces affect one’s quality of life. An online survey was conducted to gather data on patients with scoliosis; the data collected included the subjects’ demographics and clinical information. In addition, exploratory questions concerning the subjects’social interactions, attitudes towards their brace treatment and their involvement in the selection of the brace used in their treatment were collected; the Scoliosis Research Society-24 (SRS-24) questionnaire was used to determine subject satisfaction and performance. This study examined whether any of these exploratory questions were correlated with the SRS-24 score or the type of brace worn. Overall, the respondents were unhappy that they had to wear a scoliosis brace with 75% reporting they “hated” or “disliked”” their brace. Almost half of the respondents, 45%, reported they were teased because of their scoliosis brace. Also, almost all of the respondents had no involvement in the selection of their scoliosis brace with 20% having a parent/guardian choose their brace and 77% having their physician choose their brace. The exploratory questions showed no correlation to the SRS-24 score, nor did the type of brace used in treatment correlate with any of the exploratory questions. However, this study did find that a significant number of patients with scoliosis report being teased for wearing a scoliosis brace and that patients have little choice in the selection of their back brace.

Biography

Bridget Yang is a senior at Valencia High School. She was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 11 and is deeply interested in scoliosis related research. Bridget hopes to improve the quality of life of those affected by scoliosis through her research.