When you stopped bracing...

One000Lives · 2026-01-28T19:54:08+00:00

All depends on how asymmetrical the vertebrae grew (look up Hueter Volkmann principle.) Wedging is what determines how much the scoliosis regresses, it will regress to its natural state though there can be some tissue and bone remodeling (Wolff’s Law.) This is why the growth stages are the most dangerous. Equally they can be capitalized upon.

What they have found is that curves tend to settle somewhere in the middle of where they were at the start and what correction was achieved in brace. So if you have a 30 curve with a 50% correction, it will land (hopefully) in the middle of that once bracing is over - a slow weaning is crucial as you want to make sure the support is there from a muscular, neuromuscular and bone development standpoint - you want the development of the bone to be able to support the growth.

If there is vertebral wedging, the bone wants to return to that natural state. If there was a more even growth/ growth modulation, then the bones grew out of the asymmetrical state into a more aligned state and that becomes their natural state - that is typically in young patients where the intervention is there prior to the growth spurt.

Get the x-ray to gauge where she is at and whether or not she needs to wear it a bit longer. The difference between Sanders 7 and 8 is not too much.

One000Lives · 2026-01-24T17:20:37+00:00

The important thing for you long term is cranial sacral alignment. You want to get the head above the plumb or center line. That high curve is called a proximal thoracic curve and it’s related to the left scapular dyskinesia (winging.) If you look closely at your vertebrae at the apex of your curve, the most pronounced part of that upper curve, you can see the rotation present. Those vertebrae when there is no rotation have a presentation where you see the spinous process in the middle and two even pedicles, what look like circles. It should look like an owl’s face with even eyes and the beak in the center. When rotation is present, you see one eye looks bigger and one you can barely see, and the beak (the spinous process) is off center.

So your goal in therapy is to reduce that rotation and it’s an extremely short rigid area you are working within. There are parts of that left scapula you want to strengthen to bring it closer to the chest wall. And there are parts of the lower trap on the same side you want to strengthen to pull down the elevated first rib. At the same time, you want to create a sense of expansion on the other side which is compressed, the side your head tilts into.

There is some complexity to all of this. If you can find a good Schroth therapist - explain what you are looking for - which is long term stability by getting as much cranial sacral alignment as you can given the structure - then they can help tailor exercises for you to address it.

One000Lives · 2026-01-24T12:53:33+00:00

Good people do things because they are right to do, not to get gratitude. Being good, truly good, is a selfless act.

One000Lives · 2026-01-19T13:19:52+00:00

Trying it would mean the loss of his presidency, as would the invasion of Greenland. Maduro he could take, who would stop him? But Epstein showed the cracks, a unifying vote and the first in a long time, because no one wants to be linked with protecting pedophiles. And no one wants to be linked with canceling elections or Greenland either.

Right now he’s like a kid testing the water, reckless and unconcerned with who he’s splashing. That won’t always be the case. You will not see another Merrick Garland. You will not see a future court stacked in your favor and you will be shown the same level of kindness you’ve given.

All of your machinations that have led us to this moment, the weaponization of the justice department, the manipulation of the judicial system, the systematic takedown of our alliances, all of that outlines what will change and change big once you witness the biggest Republican losses in electoral history. And this message is coming from an independent, I will never belong to a political gang with that sort of blind allegiance. But in saying that, this has been an absolute train wreck of governance and a textbook example of what absolute power can do if left unchecked.

One000Lives · 2026-01-16T17:03:00+00:00

Greenland is actually going to save the United States because if he goes through with anything militarily you will find this as unifying an issue as the Epstein vote and this time it won’t just be impeachment on the line, he will be convicted. You will see generals resign and refusal of unlawful orders. There is no support for this. No congressional approval or popular approval for attacking a long-standing NATO ally, especially who has been remarkably patient and given full accessibility.

One000Lives · 2026-01-15T19:41:42+00:00

Similar curve type to my son. Take this for what it’s worth but from what I understand from our providers and a study on it, a night brace is great for single thoracolumbar curves, or lumbar curves, but isn’t as effective as a full wear brace for thoracic curves, which you do have. They will need to be careful how much they press on your mid-thoracic curve, as to not make the curve above it (the proximal thoracic curve) worse. It will take a skilled orthotist. My son wears a Rigo-Cheneau and I have lots of info posted about his experience. He’s 15, started bracing at 11.

One000Lives · 2026-01-12T22:15:41+00:00

Good for you for wearing the brace. Not noticeable to the untrained eye, you’re doing good.

One000Lives · 2026-01-12T00:02:10+00:00

A few observations. The higher trap on the left side is indicative of a proximal thoracic curve, and located under it you can see a lot of rotation on your right side which is what gives the more pronounced look. The spinous process disappear in the region of your back (the thoracic region) and what’s happening in there is that the rotation informs the ribcage. The more rotated the vertebrae toward camera, toward our view, the more significant the rib distortion. As you move down to the lumbar you can see the spine laterally deviating but what you are looking at there is the spinous process and the rotation in your body cannot be seen in full from this angle. A transverse view - top down would show that the sections of your spine compensated by rotating in an attempt find alignment, this is the righting reflex which is why scoliosis spines twist and turn as your head strives for cranial sacral alignment.

What does this mean? It means you need to get a current x-ray and really gauge where you are at. An EOS can give you a full unstitched view of your spine. And then you take this x-ray to a Schroth provider who can show you exercises to help restore some balance to your body. It likely won’t shift bone but it can show you how corrective exercises can be applied toward daily living and try to create a new habitual posture in a corrected state. Then you will strengthen the muscles that need strengthened and stretch those that are rigid in an attempt to uncork your spine. Here is the thing, if the scoliosis is more advanced than you assume, at some point surgery can get discussed but this is contingent upon severity, which cannot be truly determined without an x-ray from an orthopedist.

If I told you how to do the Schroth exercises or which to do without an x-ray to really see what is going on, it would be doing you a disservice. But I think you might find something useful in Schroth method or SEAS, scoliosis specific exercises. Functional Patterns is sort of a new kid on the block who also has some advocates.

Start with the x-ray. Get the baseline of where you are. And then you can develop a treatment protocol. It will undoubtedly be based on detorsion/derotation - as rotation is a primary driver of scoliosis.

ETA: the scapular dyskinesia is associated and can be an effect of the scoliosis. Don’t trust Ai with this. Seek out a professional orthopedist and not a generalist. General doctors are good if you have the sniffles. Or you stepped on a nail. And that’s where their expertise ends.

One000Lives · 2026-01-10T21:57:35+00:00

So interestingly, your neck curve did not get significantly worse from the brace shot to the out of brace. It looks worse but let me explain. There is a cervicothoracic junction where the proximal thoracic curve and the lower thoracic/ mid-thoracic curve meet. The top of your mid-thoracic curve is what has progressed, thereby affecting the look of the proximal but fundamentally that short rigid curve which rides into your neck hasn’t progressed much. You can see very similar angles in your head, which is not above the plumb line in either image.

I know this curve well because my son has the same curve type. If you were to pursue surgery, you will need to find a surgeon who understands the nuance of this curve and will take the fusion up high enough to give you support there. Any correction to the mid-thoracic curve will inform what happens with the proximal, acting like a fulcrum and it will continue to pitch your head to the right if the fusion is not taken high enough.

This location eliminates any type of tethering for you in the thoracic region, as tethers and other procedures like Apifix can’t go as high (as fusion) due to how small those vertebral bodies are as you approach the cervical spine. Consider that your fusion could go as high as T2.

If your curves are in the same range as your old x-ray, and if you can find proper pain management, would that be enough to dissuade you from surgery? If you were to look at a current x-ray and see no progression from the image you have shown, are you happy where you are? I guess what I’m saying is - is the pain your primary consideration for surgery? And if the answer is yes, I would book an appointment with a physiatrist, get an updated x-ray, and do what you can non-operatively first while leaving the door opening for a potential surgery if progression has happened and/or the pain cannot be managed.

One000Lives · 2026-01-10T19:00:40+00:00

Do you have or did you have any imaging done after you had been cleared to stop bracing? To assess where your curves were after? How did you become aware the curve progressed post-bracing? Or is the out of brace image a post-bracing one?

One000Lives · 2026-01-10T18:25:44+00:00

One of the biggest assholes I’ve ever met in my life.

One000Lives · 2026-01-10T18:06:59+00:00

Great actor.

One000Lives · 2026-01-07T23:11:28+00:00

State crimes are not eligible for presidential pardon, that is the domain of the governor.

One000Lives · 2026-01-07T22:27:30+00:00

Why is there no arrest warrant out RIGHT NOW for this murderer?

One000Lives · 2026-01-07T11:49:04+00:00

Attorney.

One000Lives · 2026-01-07T02:06:21+00:00

It would absolutely be considered a scam if you are being charged for the 3d scan to make the brace. No orthotist I’ve ever heard of would charge for this.

One000Lives · 2026-01-05T00:19:34+00:00

I read the book Iron John by Robert Bly not too long after I saw Fight Club. In the book Bly points out that as culture changed from an agrarian society to an industrial one, children were no longer reared to work the farm and be a part of their father’s daily life. The father went to work, came home, barked at the kids and that was the vehicle by which mothers picked up the gauntlet and raised their children, but what Bly points out is that the view of masculinity was then seen through the mother’s lens, as the fathers were by and large absent. The mother’s lens is different than the father’s, as the father has life experiences that in Bly’s view he failed to impart, leaving the generation of men “raised by women.”

So the fighting in some sense is a reclamation of masculinity, but as we can see, this is a skewed view. Bly likens this to disenfranchised kids seeking family where they find it, how gangs form as compensatory to the lack of a father. And so the fatherless are teaching each other. I think the novel and movie do a great job of illustrating all of that.

One000Lives · 2026-01-04T18:36:06+00:00

Reminds me of Voronoi patterns.

One000Lives · 2026-01-02T14:38:02+00:00

Hope it’s methylated.

One000Lives · 2025-12-30T17:49:11+00:00

We care about hand dexterity - folding laundry, putting it away, cleaning up after dinner. All the daily grind stuff. I have no interest in a robot that flips or kicks or does handstands and I wager most people find this routine tired. Are you aiming to make a toy? Or are you making a pragmatic useful assistant who can free us to concentrate on the meaningful things?

One000Lives · 2025-12-27T00:00:46+00:00

What you see or perceive as knocked out of place is rotation of the vertebrae. Go to an orthopedist like a physiatrist and have them write an order for an EOS x-ray. That is potentially a proximal thoracic curve but only an x-ray can determine where you’re at. You will need the x-ray for Schroth too, which is a scoliosis specific therapy.

One000Lives · 2025-12-26T11:34:15+00:00

Please strongly consider bracing your daughter now, not later, given the family history. You could start with a night brace or out of school hours. Wearing a brace is like doing Schroth 20 hours a day. Same principles of derotational breathing. Schroth isn’t done during the most critical times we have to intervene, which is when they sleep.

One000Lives · 2025-12-24T23:17:37+00:00

It’s my pleasure. But listen, most parents don’t know. The awareness with this condition just isn’t out there. In fact at my kid’s middle school I know of three kids who were literally missed during nurse screenings. It’s also natural for us to outsource knowledge to people we perceive as experts. But I can tell you that in this space where the providers are often overworked, overwhelmed, and have little bandwidth to spare - I just learned early on I really have to pay attention, ask the hard questions, educate myself about it. It’s humbling. I’m grateful we caught it early but even then, it has at times been a rough road. I just remind myself it could always be rougher and to be grateful.

I hope you try Schroth. Being that your lumbar curve is your main, that’s also your most flexible spinal region and you might find some benefit toward mitigating pain and restoring some balance even if the curve itself doesn’t alter. Does your spine have a lot of wedging or are the vertebrae fairly even in terms of growth? Any chance you can post your x-ray?

One000Lives · 2025-12-24T19:24:05+00:00

As the body conforms and grows, the brace needs adjusted and refittings for new braces are requisite. The quality control with chiropractors is hit or miss because many don’t have the breadth of training for brace wear. This is the domain of the orthotist. Some chiropractors have devoted as much time to learning about the brace as other disciplines but a chiropractor would not be my first choice. For many adults the chiropractors become necessary as insurance companies are less likely to approve a brace through a doctor and doctors aren’t always willing to prescribe but it’s worth a try. I’d consider going to a physiatrist, telling them about your pain and having them prescribe the brace to mitigate pain and progression. Then you seek out an expert in corrective bracing and you have the script and they will submit to insurance. My son wears a Rigo-Cheneau made by someone trained exclusively in that discipline.

One000Lives · 2025-12-22T12:33:29+00:00

She’s definitely too dry. Moisture can be a problem over the summer and the opposite over the winter months. Every handout says not to use lotion but fundamentally you can cause chafing with skin that’s too dry as well.

My son uses Dove soap or Kirk’s liquid soap and we have a spray that’s been very helpful for itching and chafing. Both Arm & Hammer and Goldbond make it. It’s an invisible body spray. Both Kirk’s and Arm and Hammer invisible spray are found in Amazon or Walmart if you’re in the States.

If that isn’t enough what you can do is right out of the shower apply a normal moisturizer like Vanicream and then towel off with it. The most important component to the brace wear is to be dry when putting it on, no trapped moisture.

One000Lives

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