Brace Treatment for Adults with Spinal Deformities

The bracing indication for adults with spinal deformities is two-fold: (1) pain and (2) deformity. Although pain is more frequent in the adult population with scoliosis, there is no correlation between the angle of curvature and pain intensity. Pain is reportedly more frequent in patients who were operated. Non-specific pain can successfully be treated with stabilisation exercises; however, some patients may need brace treatment to improve their pain. Today, with the help of a simple clinical test, we can distinguish between different types of lower back pain allowing a differential approach to the symptom. There is some evidence that pain can successfully be reduced by these approaches mainly influencing the sagittal profile. In patients with bigger deformities and in patients aiming at reducing their deformity, pattern-specific scoliosis braces are a successful choice according to published research cases. The different specific brace types/designs along with the differential indication for these brace types will be described in this chapter.