At the age of three, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Scoliosis, which is an abnormal curvature of the spine (mine being in the shape of an S). Luckily for me, it was detected so early that the doctors were able to monitor it for the oncoming years to see how it would progress. By the age of 9, the angles of my curves were progressing, resulting in me being put into a full-time Scoliosis Boston Brace, which went from under my arm to below my hips. I wore this 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, from 9 to 16 years old. My four hours of freedom each day was usually put toward team sport, gym, swimming or showering. Although it was difficult at times, especially in Australian summers, I truly believe that this experience shaped me into who I am. It taught me discipline, organisation and time management. Even when I was young, I kept track of the amount of time I had had my brace off to ensure i didn’t exceed my 4 hour limit. It taught me to plan my schedule accordingly, and to be able to balance participation in fun activities while still meeting my health requirements.
Boston Bracing is most effective in preventing spinal fusion surgeries for adolescents with curves under 50º (Tsirikos et al., 2023). Once i reached the end of my growth, I was able to gradually ‘wean’ out of my brace, reducing my hours every few weeks. My spine is still just as curved as when I began my bracing journey, but my brace worked to prevent it from progressing as I grew, to avoid major surgery.
I believe that if I hadn’t learnt to be disciplined with how much i wore my brace, and simply left it off when it was hurting, hot, or I just didn’t feel like wearing it, I wouldn’t have received the successful results that i did. This comes into play on my everyday life, even now. By simply giving in to what’s comfortable at the time, you leave no room for improvement and progression. Progress isn’t a linear road. Some days my brace was hurting so much I needed an extra hour or so with it off, then just got back on track the next day. Sometimes you need a day to recharge to avoid burnout and resentment toward what you’re doing. If I had forced myself to stay in my brace even when i was in severe pain, i’m only going to hate it more. Same goes with gym, healthy eating habits, or work. One day off isn’t going to ruin your progress, but rather prevent you from going into a long term spiral that ends up having an even worse effect.
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