Early Treatments in the 19th and 20th Century

If a patient presented in the 19th and 20th century with Scoliosis, the method of treatment would have been with braces and other devices to try and stabilise the curve and to try and correct the curve.

The Patients found that the braces or plaster jackets were painful to wear and as a result disrupted their daily lives, as they restricted movement and could not be removed for bathing. As a result of having to wear these devices it made the patient feel more self conscious of the condition. Having scoliosis can make children and adults self conscious about how they look at any time but having to wear the devices in those days only added to the problem.

Plaster Jacket by E.H. Bradford and E.G. Brackett circa 1890

Milwaukee brace 1945

Drs. Walter Blount and Albert Schmidt of the Medical College of Wisconsin and Milwaukee's Children's Hospital in 1945

This was developed by Drs. Walter Blount and Albert Schmidt of the Medical College of Wisconsin and Milwaukee's Children's Hospital in 1945. It continued to be developed until it reached its present form in 1975. This brace is worn after spinal fusion to hold the spine in place

In the early 70’s the most popular TLSO systems, the Boston Brace

Developed by Dr. John Hall and Dr. William Miller of The Boston Children's Hospital

The Boston Brace extends from below the breast to the beginning ofthe pelvic area in front and just below the scapulae to the middle of the buttocks in the back. It is designed to keep the lumbar area of the body in a flexed position by pushing the abdomen in and flattening the posterior lumbar contour. Pads are strategicallyplaced to provide pressure to the curve, and areas of "relief" or "voids" are provided opposite the areas of pressure.

Charleston Brace 1979

Developed in 1979 by Dr. Frederick Reed and Mr. Ralph Hooper, CPO, this brace is worn only at night during sleep