Milwaukee Brace Today
By Maruyama, Toru; Takeshita, Katsushi; Kitagawa, Tomoaki; Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 136-138Publication Date: May 2008
Literature review undertaken to investigate the efficacy of the Milwaukee brace, assess its psychological impact, and determine whether its use is still acceptable today in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). For the study, a bibliographic search of the PubMed and Medline databases was performed. The Milwaukee brace, in use since 1954 for the conservative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis, consists of a neck ring, anterior and posterior uprights, a pelvic mold, an axillary sling, a thoracic pad, and a lumbar pad. The neck ring and pelvic mold fix and somewhat extend the spine, and transverse corrective forces are applied by the axillary sling, thoracic pad, and lumbar pad. The literature review revealed a 23-hour wearing protocol of the Milwaukee brace to be the most effective for the treatment of AIS; however, the protocol has some drawbacks including the negative psychological impact of the brace on its wearers, especially the neck ring, and some studies demonstrated that patients wore their brace for a much shorter time than prescribed. The authors report on a part-time bracing protocol used in their practice combined with physical therapy for 39 adolescent patients, showing a 28 percent rate of progression, compared to a 48 percent progression reported in the curve of untreated patients. They are currently investigating how the part-time wearing regimen of the Milwaukee brace affects patients’ quality of life in comparison with other treatment modalities.
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Limited (Website:http://taylorandfrancis.org)
International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.isprm.org )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J55302
