Nora tries on her scoliosis brace on the first day of her treatment.
Anissa is feeling strong after receiving her back brace.
Nora displays her story from the conference booth at Higgy Con 2026.
Two Teen Girls, Two New Back Braces for Scoliosis
Two Chicago 13-year-old girls went from not knowing they had scoliosis to wearing back braces during summer break.
“Idiopathic scoliosis is a curvature of the spine with no known cause or underlying disease. It’s often discovered during teenage growth spurts, which occur after the age of 10,” said pediatric orthopedic surgeon John Ghazi, M.D.
Anissa had complained about severe unexplained back pain for years.
“Sometimes when it would hurt my back, I would have to sit out from certain activities I do,” said Anissa. After she was diagnosed with scoliosis, her family brought her to the pediatric spine team at Shriners Children’s Chicago.
Anissa has a 22-degree spinal curve. She will wear a thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO) brace, which is designed to prevent or slow the progression of spinal curvature, only at night. She squealed with excitement when she first saw her new brace in a pattern she chose: “I’m excited, it’s so pretty!”
Nora shows her love for her new back brace.
Her older sister, Aviva, hopes the brace will start to ease her sibling’s aches and pains. “We would have normal fun; she would be jumping up and down and then ten seconds later she would be talking about her aching back,” said Aviva.
While both girls are being treated for scoliosis, Nora faces a more significant curve. As a result, her treatment plan requires more extensive brace wear. She will wear her pink brace, called a Boston TLSO, for 20 hours a day. Both girls received their custom braces from our hospital’s convenient on-site Pediatric Orthotic and Prosthetic Services (POPS) clinic.
“The brace isn’t that scary, just takes a little getting used to,” said Nora.
Both girls will likely continue bracing until they are finished growing to help prevent their curves from progressing.
Shriners Children’s pediatric orthopedic surgeons treat more than 10,000 patients with scoliosis every year, across our healthcare system. Care for most teenagers, like these two, starts with a brace and sometimes progresses to surgery.
“I’m happy that we are going down this path of less invasive first, see how it goes,” said Nora’s mom, Kristin. “I think there’s just peace of mind, being with Shriners Children’s.”
Excellence in Care
10,000
number of scoliosis patients treated every year BY Shriners Children's
10
Average age when Idiopathic scoliosis appears in Children
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