Scoliosis is the three-dimensional abnormal curvature of the spine. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) in particular refers to such spinal deformity among rapidly developing preteens and teens. In the school year of 2009/10, about 3.96% of students in Hong Kong were found to show signs of AIS1 and among them, 9 out of 10 are female. So far, surgery is recommended to patients with extreme deformity (i.e. spinal curve exceeding 40 degrees). Those with substantial deformity (i.e. spinal curve between 25 and 40 degrees) are given treatments in the form of a hard brace made of rigid plastic. Patients with minor deformity (i.e. spinal curve between 6 and 25 degrees) are only put under observation without treatment. In light of this, Dr Joanne Yiu-wan Yip, Assistant Professor, Institute of Textile and Clothing, and her research team designed a girdle that corrects posture among early AIS patients.
No proper corrective garment for early AIS patients
“Though there aren’t well-accepted causes for AIS, poor posture could be considered one possible factor that contributes to pain and further deformity among patients. Thus, we suppose building good posture habits may help prevent the worsening of abnormal spinal curvature that AIS patients are prone to during their rapid growing phase,” said Dr Yip. Unfortunately, there isn’t any appropriate clothing in the market that offers the right support for such posture control and training. The hard brace is way more supportive than necessary for such purpose, while detrimental to comfort, freedom of motion and appearance. Flexible brace may not offer enough support and its effect is dubious. Off-the-shelf posture corrective garment is just not supportive enough and not customizable to cater to the specific spinal deformity of each patient.
“That’s exactly the reason why we came up with the posture correction girdle, not to replace the hard brace, but as a means to improve posture among preteens and teens with early scoliosis and to make the worsening of spinal deformity less likely to happen. But designing functional clothing to correct their posture is one thing. Whether they’d wear it according to the instruction is another. In that regard, we use care not just on the functional aspect (i.e. mechanical support that the girdle provides), but also in terms of comfort, degree of motion, personal hygiene and aesthetics.” Dr Yip explained.
Compliance as important as function
Dr Yip’s corrective girdle is basically a form-fitting undergarment made with elastic straps. There are two shoulder straps to correct the curvature of thoracic spine. Then customized corrective pressure is added on the spine at different points by inserting ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam pads into the 8 pockets sewn on the inside of the garment. “After much testing, we found EVA offers the best support without being completely rigid and stiff. Again, it’s the balance between function and comfort we’re trying to achieve,” said Dr Yip. The girdle is flexible and breathable so as not to hinder the movement of the wearer. It doesn’t show under school uniforms and other clothes either. Of course, it’s way more comfortable than the hard brace. These factors certainly contribute to the high compliance rate by the subject in the six-month wear trial conducted by ITC. According to Dr Yip, “Seven out of nine participants completed the whole trial period, with a compliance rate of 91.33% on average. Immediate and lasting improvements on both static and dynamic postures were observed among the subjects. Over 70% of them had their spinal curvature under control or improved. The results are highly encouraging.”
For the wear trial, the team devised a sensor on the girdle to monitor subject’s compliance and posture throughout the trial. In future, when the sensor is coupled with a smartphone app, wearers will receive a vibrating reminder when their bodies begin to slouch or any imbalance is detected. That sure would further help AIS patients build better posture habits.
In April 2015, the posture correction girdle won a gold medal and a special merit award at the 43rd International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, Switzerland
[1] Department of Health. Department of Health Annual Report 2009/2010, Hong Kong, http://www.dh.gov.hk/english/pub_rec/pub_rec_ar/pdf/1011/ADR2010_11_e.pdf (accessed 10 August 2012).
