The ScoliOlogiC "Chêneau light" brace--does the reduction of material affect the desired correction?

The "Chêneau light" brace, developed according to the Chêneau principles, promises a lesser impairment of quality of life in the brace. However material reduction should not result in reduced effectiveness. Therefore the primary correction effect in the "Chêneau light" brace has been evaluated and compared with that of other traditional braces.

The correction effects of the first 99 patients (main diagnosis AIS or EOS; 7 boys, 92 girls), treated according to the principles of the "Chêneau light" brace were evaluated after an average treatment time of 6 weeks by a full-body X-ray made in the standing position while wearing the brace and compared with the last X-ray before bracing. The average curvature angle of the whole group was 41 degrees , the average age was 13 years.

The Cobb angle in the whole sample has been reduced by an average of 14,7 degrees, which corresponds to a correction effect of 42%. In patients from this sample who had their first brace (n=53; Cobb angle 36,6 degrees) the in-brace correction was at 49,8%. The correction effect correlated slightly negative with age (r = -0,18; p = 0,034) and correlated negatively with the Cobb angle measured before treatment (r = -0,49; p = 0,0001).

The use of the "Chêneau light" brace leads to correction effects above average when compared to correction effects of other braces described in literature. The reduction of material seems to affect the desired correction in a positive way.