Back brace

Claim 1

In a back brace for the treatment of scoliosis in a patient, said brace comprising, a rigid, molded plastic pelvic girdle shaped to fit closely about the lower stomach and pelvic portion of a patient, said girdle adapted to substantially surround the patient and coming together in a separable posterior joint, a pair of posterior rigid metal uprights, one of said uprights positioned on each side of said posterior joint, a single anterior rigid metal upright fastened substantially centrally of said girdle and extending vertically upward and adapted to fit the curvature of the front of the patient, each of said uprights terminating at a level just below the level of a patient's clavicle, laterally extending rigid metal arms fastened to the upper portions of said uprights and curved so as to be adapted to encircle the body of the patient at the approximate level of the patient's armpits, underneath the patient's arms, means on said girdle to secure the joint portions of the girdle together and means on the upper portions of said pair of posterior uprights to secure them to each other thereby forming a closed brace adapted to surround the patient, and means associated with a selected portion of at least one of the upright members and at least one of the encircling members for applying pressure to selected portions of the patient's body so that an abnormal curve of the patient's spinal column may be either reduced or eliminated by lateral pressure applied to the patient's body through said metal uprights.