Yesterday I had my third set of x-rays in the program. The doctor wanted to see how another week of treatment affected my curvature. The x-ray measured my top curve at 37 degrees, one degree higher than the x-ray the week prior but still better then the original 51 degrees. While this slight increase could come from a measurement error, the doctor was still disappointed that my curve hadn't further improved. Perhaps the cantilever wasn't providing enough leverage.
To test this, I had another x-ray taken today while I was wearing the cantilever. While stressed my curve measured at 30 degrees. The doctor was right in his hypothesis, the stressed leverage wasn't low enough so the following relaxed curve size was higher.
To address this a new cantilever was made for me that increased the fulcrum height from seven to nine inches. This alteration provides more leverage on a greater area of my back and spine to be affected. The angle of the fulcrum was also altered to pinpoint the center of my curvature and have the most effect on it. Furthermore, more weight was added to the cantilever to maximize the effectivity.
Hopefully, the new cantilever will reduce my stressed curve to the mid-twenties, bringing the relaxed curve down too. I have two days left at the CLEAR Institute, so hopefully this last minute fiddling will work!
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