There are other excellent ways to relieve and even reverse the effects of scoliosis but like the SpineCor brace people never hear about them. I practice a method based on brilliant work by a physicist called Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. This work has helped thousands of children and adults with chronic conditions such as scoliosis but few people have ever heard of it. It is a hard sell to the medical industry because there are no drugs or surgery involved, just the brain power of the individual to learn how to move differently than they do now. It is also hard to quantify how it works because it is a whole body approach and that is hard to measure with the tools that exist today. Approaches like this will not become mainstream until the medical system becomes so ineffective at helping people with certain conditions that the costs overwhelm the benefits. Check out www.anatbanielmethod.com for many stories of parents and their children. Jackie Mason

J'ai mon corset SpineCor depuis plus de deux ans, et je suis extrêmement satisfaite des résultats. J'ai une importante scoliose, et après six mois de port quotidien pendant 20 à 24 heures, ma courbure avait diminué de 50 %. J'ai cessé de le porter quelques mois plus tard, car je suis tombée enceinte. J'étais d'ailleurs très heureuse de le retrouver quelques mois après l'accouchement. Maintenant, je le porte en moyenne trois jours complets par semaine tout en bénéficiant d'ajustements chiropratiques réguliers. Avant d'avoir mon corset, je m'inquiétais beaucoup de voir ma santé et ma posture se détériorer avec le temps sans pouvoir rien faire. Je suis maintenant rassurée de savoir que je contribue à ma qualité de vie à long terme sans trop d'effort. En effet, le corset devient comme une deuxième peau après un certain temps. J'avoue toutefois que les premières semaines ont été difficiles pour moi. Je me sentais inconfortable et je ne savais pas toujours comment le dissimuler sous mes vêtements. Mais maintenant, c'est tout naturel pour moi de le porter. La question de la douleur a également été réglée instantanément. Dès que je mets le corset, elle disparait complètement. Elle a aussi diminué lorsque je ne le porte pas. Le corset offre un soutien incroyable. Il améliore grandement notre posture -- et donc notre allure générale -- pendant qu'on le porte et même après. Je recommande sans hésiter le corset SpineCor à tous ceux qui ont une scoliose ou des troubles posturaux. Merci à la docteure Dion de l'Alternative Santé Chiropratique de m'avoir permis de bénéficier de cet outil révolutionnaire. Je la remercie également pour son aide et son professionnalisme. Marie-Hélène

HEALTH SCIENCE - NATIONAL MAG AWARDS The response to the story Amazing Brace has been overwhelming, with hundreds of letters received from scoliosis sufferers claiming that the MacLeans article about this Canadian invention has changed their lives. Sharon Dunn wrote the story to inform other desperate Canadian parents and patients about a Quebec brace used worldwide for the treatment of scoliosis, but virtually ignored in Canada. A Vancouver mother writes, 'the words thank you seem insufficient to convey my gratitude for your research and article on scoliosis. If life is a tapestry of events and people, you are the thread that has bound many of us together . Thank you for being strong enough to be the thread. Due to your research and article my(12 year old) daughter Sarah will have a brighter future. Another mother writes: "Dear Ms. Dunn, your article in Macleans magazine has been a godsend. If it was not for you, we would never have discovered the brace that has helped our 21 year old son. The brace has greatly improved his quality of life. Why is this life-changing Canadian product not in the mainstream of healthcare in Canada?' Franca... Here are more letters:: Sharon, Thank you for writing this article.... I had felt pretty hopeless about my condition, but now I feel like there is still some hope for me. Lauren, Austin, Texas Ms. Dunn, Thank you for writing your story, it has changed my life... Adrienne N. Wilson Hello, I am 15. One day in art class my art teacher noticed my back, and mentioned your article. Before I read it, I thought, 'that's it, this is my life'. Thank you so much, for giving me hope, and a chance. Shaheen. I absolutely BELIEVE in the SpineCor system. Jack Hanan, C.O. (certified orthotist) Brooklyn, New York I am 62 years old. Wearing the brace has made a big difference.... Thank-you for your article, Eileen The (SpineCor) brace is a wonderful event in my life. My quality of life is significantly improved. Thank you. Marie Suzette Drs. Rivard and Colliard, the SpineCor inventors from Montreal, have also received hundreds of emails and calls since the story ran, including a call from a 90 year old man, desperate to get help for his 61 year old son's scoliosis pain! Dr. Louise Marcotte wrote the following: Dear Sharon, I have been getting e-mails and phone calls from such desperate people since your article! Some have been suffering atrociously for all their lives and were never offered any hope for their condition. The worse thing is, some health care professionals are even discouraging those patients to actually try the brace even if they have nothing else to offer, while I know the SpineCor Dynamic Brace would definitely help. Mentalities change very slowly and although I am getting a lot of "Not Invented Here" attitude, I am confident that with wonderful articles like yours, we will be able to make it available to the greater public in a short period of time... I have tons of stories to tell you about people whose lives have been changed because of the SpineCor brace. Dr. Louise Marcotte, Montreal chiropractor

I have just finished reading your article about braces for scoliosis. I am not new at all to the term scoliosis, in fact I am very familiar with the term, side effects, surgery, and bracing. I am currently a grade 11 student and last May received spinal surgery. Although it has not yet been a full year, i am still not satisfied with the results. Although many have one curve in the spine, i had two, both pretty bad. My top curve was at about 45 degress, and the curve at the bottom of my spine was 32 degress. I was often complaining about pain, but i was mostly worried about how my ribs grew because i was the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The surgeon told me that there was no point for a brace, but the one that was supplied at the hospital looked very uncomfortable and looked more like a piece of hockey equipment that was visible to everyone. I am still in somewhat pain from surgery, i get stiff very easily. However, if your back is in pain, you are to excercise or do some streches. Thats what has helped me out. The surgery was painful itself. I had to miss 2 months of school, exams, was in bed all summer, crippled, and never wanting to go back to another hospital. I was on morphine for a week and because my torso was stretched out, i was unable to go to the bathroom regulary. It was a very miserable time for me. Preparing for the surgery was another issue. I had to take out 2 units of blood. Even though that doesn't sound like much, there is a reason why you have to be at least 18 to donate blood. When you are at that age, your blood vessels are much larger than someone who is 15. The needle at the blood donor services was bigger than my veins and i had to go back to the place several times to take out blood because it was so painful and not enough blood was coming out. I was very upset, and i do not recommend having your child to get surgery unless the curve is severe and very visible. As well, after surgery, the surgeon had said he would fix my ribs by shaving it down so that it would not stick out so much, but he didnt. It still sticks out, and my ribs were the main reasoning behind the surgery. Secondly, there is now a huge scar going all the way down my back. It isnt a big problem for me, but it is hard to look elegant in a dress with a 2 foot scar going down you back. If i fall, and with all these snow storms we've been having it has been very hard not to fall, im in a great deal of pain the next 2 weeks. The doctor's said themselves that it was up to me whether or not i wanted the surgery. If i had said no, they also would have dont the wait and watch. Physiotherapy didnt help either, it jsut created a big financial loss for my parents. V Ontario

As an adult scoliosis case & a graduate nurse of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto I can't believe what I've read about "English" Canada ignoring the Spinecor brace invented by a "French" Canadian Dr. here in Montreal at the Ste. Justine's Children's Hospital. The implication of this is so ridiculous it doesn't deserve a response, except that it is done on the backs of pain- wracked adolescents who could be helped without unnecessary surgery {which usually doesn't work}. Parents should be appalled at this blatant political move. R. Registered nurse

Hello Louise, Here is my testimonial about the spinecor brace; When I was 13 years old I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Scoliosis, with a curvature of 10 degrees. The doctors told me that a brace would not help me. As I grew older my curvature worsened. When I was 22 years old I had a curvature of 35 degrees. Again the doctors told me a brace would not help me. By this time I started to experience back pain. As time went on my curvature worsened and I became worried for my back pain became intolerable. I began to take action, I researched many weeks on the internet with my Mom for alternatives opposed to surgery. I was very surprised to see that the brace was in fact very successful and popular in treating patients suffering from Scoliosis, and in fact it was the best safest alternative treatment. Feeling betrayed and naive but at the same time hopeful that this information was about to change my life. When I came across Spinecor's website, I saw a picture of the Spinecor's brace. To my liking I saw how light it was and how easily it can be worn underneath clothing. This brace allowed to move freely and it is easily worn under clothing. I set up my appointment with Dr. Louise Marcotte, and traveled to Montréal, Quebec. I began my treatment with the Spinecor brace, with a degree curvature of 52 thoracic and 39 lumbar at the age of 29. The first month of wearing the brace was uncomfortable and painful. The pain was located in the same areas as before treatment. Louise told me that it was normal and will diminish with time. She was right, now I have little pain, and when I am not wearing the brace the pain returns. I have been wearing the brace for 9 months, and when I returned to have a follow up appointment to check my progress, I was happy to see positive results. After 9 months of wearing the brace my curvature moved to 45 thoracic and 32 lumbar. This news gives me incentive to stick to treatment and helps me cope with the pain. Before discovering the Spincor's brace I was lost and didn't want to consider surgery. Now I am optimistic and thankful that I have finally found a treatment that is safe and helps my pain and can correct my posture. Dr. Louise has been super she is very knowledgeable, and I am thankful that I met her and the Spinecorporation. My only regret is that I didn't know about Spinecor sooner. I wish that the health care system would be more open to alternative treatment like spinecor, and have doctors promote the use of this brace, so that adults like me have a choice other than surgery. Thank-you Spinecor. N.Z.