Scoliosis cases treated with braces: real progress seen on X-rays

All four cases used two braces (a day brace and a night brace) with periodic X-ray follow-up. Good results do not mean every child will achieve the same.

A 16-year-old boy was diagnosed with a double S-curve scoliosis with two apices of 43° and 41° Cobb, a level at which surgery is commonly considered. The family had completed the admission paperwork but stopped at the last minute to look for another solution, meanwhile having the boy do physiotherapy.

After consultation at the clinic, the family understood that apart from a corrective brace the only remaining option was surgery; if nothing was done the curve would increase very fast. The doctors also advised bracing to avoid worsening, with surgery still possible a year or two later if needed.

He followed the wearing routine very well for nearly three years with two braces, day and night. By the time he started university skeletal growth had finished and the curve was below 20° Cobb, the safe threshold. He is now 21 and still comes for a check-up whenever he is back home.

A 15-year-old girl, in grade 10, was found to have a 21° Cobb scoliosis and chose treatment with a corrective brace. After two years her Cobb angle fell from 21° to 9°. From the third year she wore the brace for maintenance and then weaned off successfully, reaching her goal before university. She has now been out of the brace for over a year.

A point worth noting: a smaller curve generally recovers better if treated while the bones are still growing.

A 14-year-old girl was found in summer 2025 to have an S-curve scoliosis of 52° and 29° Cobb, above the usual threshold for surgery. After consulting several places the family brought her to Hanoi. She was treated with day and night braces plus spinal exercises throughout.

After only 1.5 months the 52° angle fell to 22.5° (more than 50%) and the 29° angle fell to 21.5° (more than 25%).

The lesson from this case: at the start of the school year she stayed with her grandparents, who are elderly and fond of her, and loosened the brace to make her comfortable, so part of the correction was lost. By December 2025 the family was considering a year off school so she could recover her strength and wear the brace fully, because she was thin, the curve was high and the timetable heavy. This is an individual family decision, not a general recommendation.

Point to remember: the best period for correction exists only while the bones have not fully ossified. A brace worn loose or for too few hours loses the effect already achieved.

A 15-year-old boy was found in February 2024 to have a 40° Cobb scoliosis, just reaching the surgical threshold. The family did not choose surgery but chose bracing.

He continues to wear the brace to hold the curve, waiting for full skeletal maturity before weaning according to specific instructions.

Case reports do not replace scientific evidence. On the general effectiveness of bracing, the BrAIST trial (NEJM 2013) recorded 72% success in braced children versus 48% in the observation group, with success rising with hours worn.

A brace is measured and designed for each child’s own body and curve, its in-brace correction checked and adjusted as the child grows.