Scoliosis Take 2

Dancer Girl's younger sister saw the back doctor this week...

           and...

                 she has a lower back curve in a similar location as Dancer Girl.

                             It is 18 degrees.

She has had a huge growth spurt recently which seems to be slowing down so hopefully things won't progress as quickly from here as they did for her sister. We will go back in 6 months for another x-ray.

In the meantime we are going to start her on the same type of Schroth program as Dancer Girl to see if we can slow/halt any progression. She has her first appointment with them in a few weeks.

Now I guess we need a blog name for her...

She is a dancer like her sister, but we can't really call her "Little" Dancer Girl as she is standing close to 5' 5" at age 12!


She also plays and loves the cello so I guess we will go with
"Cello Girl ".

Cello Girl handled this all very well. I think it helped to have seen her sister go through this but also to see that her curve is not as far along as Dancer Girl's was at her age. She was certainly relieved that there wasn't an immediate need for a brace.

We will be keeping an eye on this over the next few months...

Six months post brace

A few weeks ago Dancer Girl had a follow up appointment at the Schroth clinic.

She was a little nervous.

Not because of the clinic itself, but because she hadn't been particularly faithful in sticking to the plan they had laid out for her back program. She was very nervous that they would see some progression of the curve.

The last thing she wanted to hear was that she might need to go back into a brace.

It turns out the appointment was very positive.

There was no progression.

                     It was holding steady.

                                               Whew!

It also helped that all the staff there are so incredibly supportive.

The therapist had her walk through all the specific exercises again to make sure she was remembering them correctly. Together they chose the ones that seemed to work best and that Dancer Girl was most likely to commit to doing regularly. We worked out a plan to ease back into a regular routine and went away happy.

It appears Dancer Girl really has stopped growing. The exercises should help support her back, and if done correctly and routinely, could even result in some correction.

While this program is expensive we would recommend that it is considered as part of a program for scoliosis as you search for the best option for your back or your child's back. We were impressed by the research behind it, the staff are supportive at the clinic we used, the choice of strategies were clearly specific to Dancer Girl's curves, and it is entirely do-able once you are set up and in your routine.

It is a program for life. Hopefully one free of serious back pain, free of curve progression, with no more bracing required!

Life post-brace

Brace-free days...

At our last appointment with the back doctor Dancer Girl had another x-ray. She was a bit disappointed to find there has been some progression since coming out of the brace a couple of months prior. However, it was only 1 or 2 degrees and the doctor was not concerned. He felt it was due to settling that occurred once the back was free of the restrictions of the brace rather than any real progression of the curve.

He basically said she is done with seeing him regularly. We thanked him and told him that we hoped to never see him again (nothing personal - he's a great guy)! He totally understood the sentiment.  :)

Dancer Girl still has to deal with some back pain, although it is much less frequent and less painful than before bracing. Yay!

She also has daily Schroth exercises to do. These are specific to her back curves and were learned from a specialist (see previous posts for more information). She can select from a variety of ones but has to do some every day.

During the summer, when our schedule is less structured, this has proven more difficult than we expected. You would think with more free time there'd be more opportunity for these things but because every day is different it's hard to remember to fit them in.

Once the fall schedule kicks in we can get better at making sure they are fit into our regular routine. The goal is to keep progression from happening and to stabilize the back.

She is also finding that some of the clothes she bought to fit over her brace still work fine without the brace. Some of it is too big of course, especially the pants and shorts, but at least we can still use some of it. Nice for the budget!

We are so thankful to everyone who helped Dancer Girl through her brace-wearing days... her pediatrician, back doctor, physical therapists, Schroth therapists, other bloggers' helpful information and advice, family members, and friends.

What seemed at the time like a long road has had this chapter come to an end. We are hopeful that we have come to a place where her scoliosis can be managed well and not pose continued issues for her.

And she can still dance!!

Diving In

Last week Dancer Girl began her intensive therapy sessions for her back using Schroth techniques at Scoliosis 3DC. We met for the initial 2-hour session where we were a bit overwhelmed with all the information, but in a good way. It is clear they take each person case by case to figure out the best exercises, stretches, breathing techniques, and ADL adjustments. This is not a one size fits all program.

They took pictures of everything and we will end up with a binder full of personalized instructions at the end of the program. They will also take video & send that home with us upon completion of the sessions.

The therapist was wonderful - informative, friendly, funny, and thorough. She also happens to be a dancer! This was nice for Dancer Girl, plus the therapist was able to use dance terminology for various body movements and positions as a way to help her learn the best ways for her to sit, stand, move, etc.

It turns out that she has been doing most activities of daily living (ADLs) wrong. Sigh. The way that is most comfortable for her body is typically not what is best for her back. The new ADL techniques will help counteract the curve rather than play into it.

The picture isn't Dancer Girl but it is similar to her curve issues and shows what we get - photos with instructions for how to sit, stand, lie down, reach, carry, etc. You can see in the left picture that the girl is leaning with/into her curve as she sits creating an increased lumbar concavity.  A simple correction for picture two shows how she has gone against the curve and reduced the lumbar concavity as a result.

We will go back three times a week, two hours at a time, for the next three weeks. I was so proud of how Dancer Girl took everything in, paid attention, demonstrated that she was learning and listening, and didn't get overwhelmed at having to adjust nearly everything she is doing in her daily routines. It has been an amazingly positive experience so far and we are quite certain that we will come away with a variety of useful strategies to help Dancer Girl keep her back curves from getting worse.

Schroth introduction

We had our first meeting with the doctor who runs the clinic closest to us (Dr. Marc Moramarco at Scoliosis 3DC).  People come from all over the world to get treated here so we are fortunate to live very close - a 15 minute drive in fact!

Everyone was incredibly friendly, making every effort to be sure Dancer Girl wasn't nervous. In fact, they assured her so often not be nervous that she began to think there must be something to be nervous about!! (There wasn't...)

This was the initial assessment.  He took a good look at her most recent x-ray and then examined her back, taking photos so he and the other therapists in the clinic can be sure to be on the same page if we were to continue with treatment.

We learned so much in just one visit!

We learned more about her specific curve than we had before - in fact, she has four curves!  The main one is at 28 degrees and is the one we knew about.  The others are much smaller and are essentially compensatory as her body tries to have her stand straight.  (He said having 4 curves is better than 3 because that last small curve at the top is what makes her look like she is standing up straight, making the scoliosis essentially invisible to the casual observer).

He showed us specifics about her curves and how they impact her posture, talking about each one individually.  He showed us how one small movement could make her back shift more into place right before our eyes.

Basically the program is designed to give you techniques for stabilization and activities of daily living to put less strain on the curves. They provide you with individualized techniques for your specific curves to help strengthen muscles and improve lung capacity which is likely impacted by the scoliosis.

He said that a person that goes into adulthood with less than a 30 degree curve is less likely to have it worsen with age.  Over 30 and it is more likely to progress.  Dancer Girl, at 28 degrees, is right on the edge of that magic number.

This program targets the specifics of each individual person's case with an intensive plan.

This program can and does get correction, but it is not guaranteed.

This program is generally not covered by insurance.

This program is expensive because it is intense and specialized.

The question then was whether or not to do it - Dancer Girl needs to be fully committed for it to work and it is a financial investment.

In the end, she was quite impressed by what we learned during our assessment visit and we have decided to go ahead and give it a try.  A new brace is also expensive, and while this costs more than a brace, if it means she can stay free of a brace from here on out then she is all for it!

We have scheduled her intensive sessions beginning in May - three weeks, 3x a week, 2 hours each time - and will let you know how it goes!

Reduce those hours!

This morning Dancer Girl had a check-up with her back doctor.  They took an x-ray out of the brace (after having not been in it for about a day) to compare it to the pre-brace curve.

The goal of the brace is to slow or stop progression. (Correction out of the brace is a bonus if it happens but it is not actually expected).

Basically, the curve is holding steady to pre-brace levels at around 27 degrees. Coupled with the fact that Dancer Girl has essentially stopped growing this was great news and has allowed her to reduce her hours in the brace. Yay!

She can now wear it "only at night" or for about 10-12 hours a day if she prefers the daytime. She does.  Sleeping in it has never become fully comfortable. She wasn't a great sleeper before the brace. Many girls get used to sleeping in it, some fairly quickly it seems, but Dancer Girl has never really managed it.

So there were tears of joy as she learned that the brace is doing its job, she can reduce her hours, and that she will go back in 6 months for another out of brace x-ray to see if she can be rid of it altogether at that point!

The rotuine

Dancer Girl has now been in the brace for 10 months of the "about a year" time frame. We have a routine fairly set now and most days she gets her hours in.

She wears it to bed most nights, takes it off first thing in the morning for a bit of a break for a shower, & during breakfast. Then it goes back on.

We homeschool, so most of her brace hours end up being at home which is nice for her.  But, we do still have many days where she needs to wear it out to classes & groups, on errands, shopping, to church, etc.

On days that are heavy with after-school activities we need to be sure to get those hours in during the day.

There are days now & then when 18 hours doesn't happen - extra dance rehearsals for example, or a special outing or event, being sick & curled up in bed, or an 8-hour visit to the ER for possible appendicitis (it wasn't the appendix but was still very painful)...

In a few weeks she will go to her back doctor for a series of x-rays to see how she does without the brace on compared to when she is in the brace.

She is hoping to be able to reduce her hours in the brace at that point.  A lot.  The doctor told her last time he was hopeful she could reduce it enough to wear it "just at night". For her that was not good news - she would rather wear it during the day and not at night! I don't blame her actually...

Songs of Hope and Encouragement, part 2

We have added to our original list of songs that bring us hope and encouragement through their lyrics. Songs are chosen because they might be...

- a song of friendship
- a song of finding hope in hard times
- a song encouraging you to push past difficulties in life
- a song of faith
- a song of turning to God for strength

The first one is the song Dancer Girl has chosen to use for her very first competition solo this year. The rest are either recent finds or rediscoveries of old favorites...


We hope you find that some of these speak to you, offering encouragement in some small way.

"Unwritten"                                    Boyce Avenue with Diamond White  
"A Beautiful Life"                          MIKESCHAIR                            
"Home"                                          Phillip Phillips
"Do Life Big"                                 Jamie Grace         
"Firework"                                      Katy Perry
"Where I Belong"                           Jenny Simmons                           
"Glorious Unfolding"                     Steven Curtis Chapman                
"He Knows My Name"                 Francesca Batistelli                      
"You"                                             Britt Nicole                                  
"Hands of God"                              Francesca Batistelli       
"Fighter"                                         Jamie Grace                                  
"Just Be Held"                                Casting Crowns                           
"Run to Jesus"                                Francesca Batistelli                      
"I Look to You"                             Whitney Houston                          

Out of town

Soon we will be heading out of town for our first trial of wearing the brace on a flight.

The plan is to have it in a carry-on bag through security, then Dancer Girl will put it on to board the plane (so we don't have too many carry on items) and see how it goes in flight.

She plans to bring a small pillow to help with positioning on the flight but if the seats prove to be unbearably uncomfortable she may opt to take the brace off.  As long as she wears it the rest of the day she could get away with not wearing it on our flights.  But, wearing it in flight will give her some relief time from it when we first arrive at our destination.

We are flying to visit family so the initial moments of arrival will involve plenty of greetings and lots of hugging which will be nicer for Dancer Girl if she is not in the brace.  (See our "Can I have a Real Hug?" post).

We will update the blog on our return - (there will be fewer posts for a couple of weeks while we are away unless we get some good computer access time).

Troublesome chairs

Dancer Girl is back from camp.  Back from her week off from the brace.  It was probably the best week at camp she has had yet and I am so happy it worked out that way.

Putting the brace back on today was rough.

But she did it.

She had it off all week so we decided to have her wear it to church this morning.  (She has rarely had to wear it to church because we can usually take that time out of the 6 hours she can have off a day).

We ran into problems with the chairs.  They look a bit like the ones in the photo.  At first glance it would seem OK because they are padded.

               The problem was the gap at the top.

Dancer Girls' brace hits right in that gap. So when she leans back her brace gets wedged in there and pushes it into uncomfortable positions.  She was in a fair amount pain just sitting.

I eventually figured out to put my arm around her in between her back & the chair right at the point of the gap to prevent the brace from slipping in, but that was not entirely comfortable for me.  Now my arm was being squeezed by the brace and the chair!  It seemed a small thing though compared to wearing a brace so we went with it.

Still, it makes the idea of wearing the brace to church a bit more difficult unless we can figure out a solution that doesn't draw too much attention to her - maybe bring a pillow or find a different chair.

Who knew a simple chair could cause so much pain?

Going Solo

Dancer Girl has decided she would like to perform a solo dance at competition next year.  We are thrilled as this is a big step of confidence for her.  The studio director is very encouraging and is happy to help her reach this goal and will be working with her on the routine.

She was wanting to choose a song from her scoliosis playlist (see our Songs of Hope and Encouragement post) and is leaning towards a contemporary/lyrical style dance.  While she had a few top choices she wasn't quite feeling the pull toward any of them for a routine right now.

Then we found it...

             an acoustic version of Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" (great song!)
             performed by Boyce Avenue featuring Diamond White (terrific arrangement).

You can see their youtube video version by clicking here.

The song is about reaching out and grabbing opportunities, making the most of the rest of your life, writing your own story, taking chances and pushing yourself, finding hope... that all resonated with Dancer Girl and she had found her song!

I can't wait to see how the dance unfolds!!

* * * * * * * *

If anyone is wondering what Dancer Girl's short list was for solo songs before we found this version of "Unwritten" it included:

Britt Nicole's "Still That Girl"
Britt Nicole's "The Sun Is Rising"
Carly Rose Sonenclar's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Meredith Andrews' "You're Not Alone"

At camp without the Boston brace

Dancer Girl is away at camp in New Hampshire this week WITHOUT HER BRACE!

She is thrilled to get the break from it for a few days and be able to fully enjoy the camp experience.

Her back doctor said that because the correction in the brace is so significant (50%!) he thought she could go without it for the week.

The activities at camp would make it hard to wear much during the day anyway and nights are short so it would be good for her to get some real sleep if possible. That hasn't been happening consistently in the brace and camp beds are not going to make it any easier!

She was thrilled to meet her counselor who is also tall - "finally I am not taller than my counselor"! - and who understands the frustrations of being the tallest in the group.

It gets tiring to hear people exclaim "you are so tall!" everywhere you go.  Not that people mean anything negative by it, it is just an observation and it is true, but it gets tiring nonetheless.

The counselor also seemed to have an understanding of scoliosis. It wasn't clear to me at drop-off if she has dealt with it herself or is just aware of it on some level but still, this was encouraging for Dancer Girl too.

We are looking forward to hearing how camp week went when we pick her up on Saturday and are praying that her back will not cause her too much pain during her time there.

On Vacation With a Boston Brace

Our family recently spent a week in a cabin on a lake up in New Hampshire.  It was wonderfully relaxing with no set schedule.  We spent the days in canoes & kayaks or on inflatable rafts in the water. A few tried some swimming but the water was COLD!

We rode our bikes, found some great ice cream, and took a day trip to Gunstock Mountain to take in their high ropes course and zip lines. We had too many s'mores for too many nights in a row.

The hard part was figuring out how the brace fit into all of this activity.

Because things changed day to day, hour to hour, Dancer Girl was in & out of it much more than usual which got tiring for her emotionally.

She also found it very difficult to sleep on the beds in the cabin while wearing the brace even though we brought some of her extra pillows, and her bedroom was hot.

While we tried to keep it on as much as possible I found it harder to enforce on vacation and we almost certainly never reached the 18 hour per day goal.

It was our first week of summer vacation at the time and so it was hard to figure out a new routine. Now I think we have settled into one, more or less, but that will change as camps and vacations come up over the next few weeks.

For this vacation we drove to our destination but there is a trip involving a flight coming up at the end of the summer.  Travel by air with the brace will be a new adventure...

A brace-free day

Recently Dancer Girl turned 13 - she is officially a teenager!

Her one request for her birthday was to be given a full day without her brace.

We were happy to oblige.

She has been so good about pushing through the rough days and her doctor has said she can have a whole week off for summer camp (yay!) so we figured one day would be alright.

She was so happy to sleep brace-free and enjoy a full 24 hour day without the brace.  It turned into more than 24 hours with the brace free nights but she was good about getting as many hours in as possible before and after her birthday so in the end we think it worked out just fine.

En Pointe with Scoliosis

Today Dancer Girl got her first pair of pointe shoes.

She is SO excited.

We got the OK from her back doctor first, and have decided to do private lessons over the summer to see if there are any scoliosis-related issues before she takes the official class in the fall.  The director of her dance studio will provide the lessons herself to monitor Dancer Girl's progress and make sure she is ready to go when classes start up again.

At the fitting the person helping us said Dancer Girl has very strong feet. She also tried to give her shoes that will help provide as much stability as possible to aid in keeping her back properly aligned.  She was very helpful, for which I was very grateful.

We are feeling good about this at the moment but are also a little apprehensive. There are differing opinions about the wisdom of pointe for girls with scoliosis.  Some say it does more harm than it is worth, others point out that many dancers with scoliosis do just fine en pointe with no additional damage to their backs.  We will just keep a close eye on things and reassess the wisdom of it should anything seem to be moving in the wrong direction.

There is something very exciting though about watching her stand en pointe for the first time!!  We need to be careful to balance that excitement and thrill with the reality of the scoliosis and make the wise choices as life throws us curves.

(Our side bar has some links to other sites that talk about dancing with scoliosis if you are interested in more information about this topic).

How Much Longer...

A year seems like an eternity in a Boston brace.  

Dancer Girl has made it through four months of her "about a year" time in her brace.

Four long months.

While her attitude is generally very good, even with bits of humor now and then, she also has her moments of sadness and tears.

We had one of those the other day.  Well, a couple of days in a row really.

It is hard to do this day in and day out - being physically restricted and forced to sit or stand a certain way, unable to do simple things easily.

And the heat of the summer is looming.

The tears often come at night with "how long do I have to wear this" or "I am so sick of this stupid thing" or "I wish this would all just go away"...

Me too.  

I wish I could do it for her.  Take the frustration and pain in her place.  But I can't.

And, I can't really answer her question about how much longer with any degree of certainty.  There are too many variables.  Maybe it will be a year.  Maybe less, but maybe more...

So, sometimes we cry together.  And give each other hugs.  And pray together. And figure out how to get her the most time out of her brace while still maintaining her 18 hour goal.

We are a third of the way through "about a year" and soon it will be halfway, then almost there.  I pray that the doctor is right in his estimates about the year and that Dancer Girl will know she has the support of so many who love her as she works her way through this difficult time.

She has already grown up so much as a result and it is inspiring to see her face this challenge head-on, even as there are tears.

I know there are many in this world who are going through a lot worse than Dancer Girl is facing, but when this is right now day after day it is naturally what consumes our thoughts and our family plans. We are thankful for so much that she can still do - especially dance - and know she will come out on the other side with grace.

My Back is Sore

Again... or, still... not sure which it is.

Scoliosis means fairly constant pain or discomfort. Some people probably have it worse than Dancer Girl, some less.  But, there seems to be a fairly constant level of it.

Massage helps.

     Muscle rub ointment helps.

          Exercises help. (Get the right ones from a PT)

               Heat helps.

                    Medicine helps.


But none of it is convenient and it only helps for a while.

It seems like Dancer Girl's general back pain is often better while wearing the brace, but it is also uncomfortable.  Especially at night.  She wakes up almost every morning with some sort of pain or discomfort from how the brace has been positioned overnight.  Sometimes a one hour break from the brace helps, but not always.

Scoliosis isn't stopping her from doing any of her favorite activities - dance, basketball, hanging out with friends, playing outside - but it does change how some of that is done.  And some of it results in additional back pain that we are learning to anticipate and manage.

Every day is a new learning experience as we juggle life with the brace.

          But we are doing it.

                    Together.

Sleeping in a Boston Brace

Sleeping in the Boston brace has proven to be harder for Dancer Girl than we anticipated.

We certainly expected it to take some time to adjust, considering the brace is made of hard, inflexible material. But, so many posts from other users indicated that they got used to it fairly quickly (within days and weeks) so we thought it would go that way for us as well.

It didn't.

Dancer Girl is prone to restless sleep anyway.  Wearing the brace didn't help. Edges dug into her no matter which way she lay down.

Once she got to the point of needing to wear it at night to get in her 18 hours things didn't go well. She couldn't fall asleep, or, if she did manage to fall asleep she didn't stay that way.  After several hours of trying, the brace would come off in the middle of the night but the damage had been done.  Dancer Girl was tired.  All the time.

She had lots of pillows all over her bed, tried different positions, even stuffed small fuzzy socks under her brace... nothing was working.

At her check up we talked to the orthotist who added some extra foam in certain areas (along the back edge for example) and shaved down others a bit.  This worked somewhat, but not entirely.

The thing that seemed to finally work in the end was something we found on a forum post - after many, many searches.

THE TRICK: She started wearing it a bit loosely at night.  This allowed for some movement to find a more comfortable position.  She has gradually been tightening it and is now up to her full level and on most nights she sleeps through.

So, in the end, a bit of extra foam (at the bottom, back edge in particular), and the shaving down of some edges, combined with wearing it loosely at first is what has done the trick.  She also still uses pillows to provide some support.

But it has taken three full months.


It seems that for most girls, getting used to wearing it at night isn't all that difficult. Hopefully you are one of those cases!

But if not, try wearing it a bit loosely at first, gradually working your way up to making it at full tightness.

Also, be sure to talk to the orthotist.  They may be able to adjust the brace just a bit in order to make a difference for you at night.

Be assured that sleep will come.

Decorating the brace

Dancer Girl opted to get a plain, neutral colored Boston brace with the idea that she would decorate it herself. She didn't want anything too bright or something she would end up not liking a few months down the road.

We had heard that decorating them is tricky because of the plastic surface but it also meant that nothing was permanent so you could redecorate it over and over as your mood dictated.  This was actually a good thing for Dancer Girl.

She had two good friends over and together they tried out some ideas on plastic containers to see what might or might not work.


Decoupage: We tried this technique on the plastic container first.  It seemed to work well but then a few days later it had peeled off.  In the meantime she had tried a bit on the brace in a few small spots and it too peeled off.

This method might work best if you are committed to doing the whole brace (like this at Strength of Spirit) but since that was not the goal at this point this was not an option for us.


Markers: Markers, even Sharpies, seemed to go on faint and dull.  Dancer Girl was not happy with the results.  It also rubbed off fairly easily - too easily.  Redoing it every few weeks or months is one thing, but every couple of days was too much work.


Stickers: We worried they might not adhere to the surface of the brace, but in the end these have proven to be pretty good options.

Dancer Girl tried some that were glittery and while it looked fun, the glitter rubbed off and got onto her clothes fairly quickly.

We found some nice inspirational sayings and Bible verses and those have stuck nicely.  Again, they can come off if she wants to change them but they also are staying fast after a couple of months.




Tape: Decorative tape is all over the place these days.  Dancer Girl was nervous about trying the colorful duct tape. She thought it might work too well and then leave a sticky residue if she tried to remove it.


Instead we went for the smaller rolls.  We found that most work well, although one style didn't stick.

Tape is a great option because you can find all kinds of colors and styles.  We picked up most of ours at either Staples or Michael's craft store.



Rub-ons: We bought the rub-ons by accident actually, mistaking them for stickers! We weren't sure they would work but it turns out these are really nice options!

With some help from Little Sister to hold it in place, the rub-ons were applied and have stuck for quite a few weeks now.





In the end we have come up with a number of fun, easy ways to decorate Dancer Girl's brace.  She likes to be able to personalize it without too much effort, as well as the ability to change something if she wishes.

What to Wear Under Your Scoliosis Brace

Being comfortable in the Boston brace depends a lot on what is going on underneath it.

There are more options than we realized for what to wear under a scoliosis brace.  However, it does require some trial and error to get the fit and feel that is right for you.  Hopefully this post will be helpful to get you on the right track to comfort!

Basically anything under a scoliosis brace needs to be:
1. smooth without any wrinkles (stretchy and tight fitting)
2. free of thick seams or, even better, seam-free
3. thick enough to provide skin protection and not get ruined by the brace
4. thin enough to not be too hot 
5. long enough to run the length of the brace
6. high enough in the armpits to provide protection there
7. nice looking and/or stylish


TANK TOPS:

Option One: The doctor gave us a few Boston T tank tops which are seamless, thick and stretchy.

Pros:  - it has a flap to cover the high piece in the armpit
          - it is thick, tight-fitting, seam-free, smooth, and stretchy

Cons: - it is very thick and Dancer Girl gets hot in it
          - the armpit area is getting all stretched out of shape
          - we can only order them through the doctor or orthotist
          - the color choice is very limited (white and grey I think)
          - they are not stylish



Option Two: One of the first options we came across was a seamless tank top by Sugarlips.  They are not designed specifically for scoliosis braces but they were recommended by many girls who wear a back brace so we gave them a try. We purchased both "the original seamless tank"and the "misses sizing" or "slim fit" tank, as well as a "seamless long camisole"

Pros:  - they are SO SOFT!
          - they are seamless (and really soft)
          - they are stretchy, form-fitting, and smooth (and soft!)
          - they come in a variety of colors
          - they come in two basic youth/adult sizes and in kids sizes

          - the slim fit/misses size fits perfectly under Dancer Girl's brace
          - Sugarlips has other seamless products - camisoles, t-shirts, leggings

Cons: - they don't have the flap under the arm
          - you can't throw them in the dryer or they lose their softness
          - the tank doesn't quite come up high enough in the armpit
   
Our take:  We really like this super-soft tank and it is cheaper than specialized options (although still more than the average tank).  It doesn't quite go high enough in the armpits to provide complete protection but Dancer Girl is finding that to be "OK" as she gets used to the brace in general. We love the assortment of color and style options and again, they are really soft!


Option Three: (NOTE: Apparently these products are no longer being made. Hope has gone off to college and is no longer in her brace - congratulations Hope! I will leave the review up though in case someone comes across a used Hope's Closet item).

Another one that comes up a lot in web searches is made by Hope's Closet. Dancer Girl wasn't too sure about the style with the bold stitching but many girls would like the fun look I am sure.  In the end we did try one tank top because it claims to have fabric that reduces sweating - sort of like high performance athletic wear.


Pros: - it is a soft, silky material
          - the seams are very flat (but there are seams)
          - it is stretchy and form-fitting
          - it comes in two styles and a variety of colors
          - it comes in a few different sizes
          - the arm hole openings go up high into the armpit and have a double layer to provide protection from the brace
          - proceeds from every purchase go to the National Scoliosis Foundation

Cons: - Dancer Girl didn't end up liking the material's feel under the brace
          - she didn't think it reduced her sweating at all, or help keep her dry by wicking away moisture
          - the seams did irritate her skin a bit even with the flat-lock stitching
          - the armholes were too tight and caused serious rubbing and red marks
          - at $30 per tank it is expensive, especially when it didn't work right for us.

Our take: It is clear a lot of thought went into this product and I really wanted it to work.  In the end though, it wasn't right for us.  If we tried again we would get a bigger size and see if the arm holes work better and if the stitching didn't irritate the skin. Many girls seem to really like these though so I wouldn't rule it out if you are searching for this material, style, and look.  Maybe try a bigger size than you think you need.  If it works and lasts it would be worth the cost for reduction of discomfort.


Option Four and Five:

BraceBuddies Body Sock

I just came across this option today.  It seems like a good one, created specifically for girls wearing back braces.  They say each tank top is custom-made to fit right and ask for specific measurements.  They cost around the same as the ones from Hope's Closet ($30 or so).  If we find we need another option to try, this one will be on our list. We will blog about it if we get one and welcome comments from anyone who has tried the BraceBuddies Body Sock!


Tilly's Seamless Cami

This is another option we have heard of recently. They are not made specifically to wear with back braces but they are seamless.  They come in a variety of colors and sizes, included kids sizes.  From the photos it looks like it won't come up high enough under the arms to give much protection though, but it might be worth a try since the price is pretty good ($9).


INTIMATES:

UNDERWEAR:

We were told to have Dancer Girl wear her underwear up over the brace.

                      Yeah.      Right.

That was clearly not going to happen!

Her current underwear was not working - the seams and bands of elastic were too thick, causing red marks on her skin.

Fortunately we had just recently found some smoother fitting underwear she was wearing for dance and it turns out it works great under the brace too. So we stocked up!

She is wearing a brand called "Barely There" which we found at Kohl's. They are probably available elsewhere too. The waistbands are very thin and flat and have no seams.  The leg bands are also very minimal in thickness. The material is soft and stretchy, and they come in a variety of styles and colors. PERFECT!


BRAS AND SPORTS BRAS:

Dancer Girl prefers the sports bra style because of the softness and comfort and there is no clasp in the back.  We thought this would be an advantage for the brace - no wires or thick bands, etc.

However, some of her current ones actually had thicker bands than we realized and were incredibly uncomfortable in the brace.  The bands were also very wide so went too low and interfered with the brace all around, not just in the higher armpit area.

Yesterday we found a solution at Kohl's - a minimal sports bra style (called a "bralet") by Lily of France. The band is thin and the style is very comfortable.  They come in a two-pack in a variety of colors.

NOTE: The "Barely There" brand also makes a wireless thin band bra style called Custom Flex Fit.  Dancer Girl tried some on but preferred the Lily of France ones because they are more of a sports bra style.  I could see the Barely There ones being good though for a more traditional bra style.