Tips for Wearing Your Scoliosis Brace
If you've been diagnosed with scoliosis, hearing that your condition can be treated non-surgically is definitely good news. While scoliosis surgery is an excellent treatment option for those with severe scoliosis, it is invasive — and if you can treat your condition without surgery, that's obviously preferable. One of the most common treatments for scoliosis is wearing a brace, which slowly straightens your spine over a period of several years. Here are some tips to follow when using a brace to treat scoliosis.
Ease Your Way Into It
Doctors will often tell their patients to only wear the brace for as long as they're comfortable at first. Definitely take this advice. Don't push yourself to wear the brace for so long that you're in pain, aggravated, or really uncomfortable. Start slow, wearing the brace for only a couple of hours a day at first. Once this becomes comfortable, leave it on for a few more hours per day. Within a few weeks, you should be comfortable wearing it all day.
Wash Your Body Well Every Day
You can and should remove your brace every day to shower. When you do, make sure you wash your skin thoroughly in the places where the brace sits. Consider using a body wash that contains soothing ingredients, like aloe vera. This can help prevent dry skin, itching, and abrasions beneath your brace. If you do find that your skin is drying out, applying an unscented moisturizer after washing can help.
Find Physical Activities You Can Do in Your Brace
It's important to continue exercising while wearing a brace. However, you don't want to do too many activities that require you to remove your brace as this reduces your treatment time and may mean you have to keep wearing the brace for longer. Examples of activities you can generally do in a brace include walking, jogging, hiking, riding a bike, some styles of dancing, and playing golf.
Eat Smaller Meals More Often
If you eat too large of a meal, you may feel restricted in your brace. Yet, you don't want to under-eat while in treatment for scoliosis either. A good solution is to eat smaller meals more often. Eat 4 or 5 small meals per day rather than 2 or 3 large ones.
Wearing a brace for scoliosis is a great way to treat most mild to moderate cases. If your doctor has recommended a brace for you, follow the tips above. Contact your doctor for more information about non-surgical scoliosis treatment.
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