Scoliosis Medical Association" (2003) asserted the lifelong physical health, including cardiopulmonary and neurological functions, and mental health of idiopathic scoliosis patients are comparable to those of the general population. Scoliosis that interferes with normal systemic functions is "exceptional" and "rare", and "untreated [scoliosis] patients had similar death rates and were just as functional and likely to lead productive lives 50 years after diagnosis as people with normal spines". In an earlier University of Iowa follow-up study, 91 percent of idiopathic scoliosis patients displayed normal pulmonary function, and their life expectancy was 2% longer than that of the general population. Generally, the
Scoliosis The Scoliosis Research Society's recommendations for bracing include curves progressing to larger than 25°, curves presenting between 30 and 45°, Risser sign 0, 1, or 2 (an X-ray measurement of a pelvic growth area), and less than six months from the onset of menses in girls. Scoliosis braces are usually comfortable, especially when well designed and well fitted, also after the 7- to 10-day break-in period. A well fitted and functioning scoliosis brace provides comfort when it is supporting the deformity and redirecting the body into a more corrected and normal physiological position. Evidence supports that bracing prevents worsening of