Embrace The Brace

I have been in a crazy looking brace since Four weeks & Four days to be precise. I started wearing the "correct" brace 5 weeks after my accident and how I wish I was made to wear this from day 1.

My family definitely finds the brace a little funny and often calls me one of these 1) Fire fighter 2)Astronaut 3) Ninja Warrior . Here's what I actually look like 

Front view 

Back view 

The brace I am wearing is called a CTO brace (Cervical Thoracic Orthosis). A CTO brace provides rigid immobilization to the neck and the upper back. The idea is that you should not be able to turn your head AT ALL! 

Here's a list of things you must remember when wearing a rigid brace : 

1. You will not be able to look down so make sure to always look ahead of you before walking. Tripping over something & falling is really the LAST thing you want. 

Try and wear shoes that are locked on your feet and without laces.

2. You will be in this brace for 24 hours a day for a couple of months so make sure you ask your caretaker to clean the brace every day with a dry cloth or a hair dryer in order to get rid of all the germs. 

3. Put anti bacterial talcum powder on your chest and back and wear the brace over a shirt in order to avoid rashes. 

I find Abzorb to be the best. 

4. Once you feel confident, speak to your Physio Therapist and start walking and doing some exercises for your arms, shoulders and back. Our bones and muscles are used to carrying our body weight and if you rest for too long, they'll start getting weak. (Read about Disuse atrophy but do not get obsessed with it)

5. You'll need help while taking a bath, but definitely take a shower every day. Wear a Philadelphia collar or a Miami-J while take a bath and check with your doctor if you can wash your hair or if you should use a dry shampoo. Also, order a non-slippery shower mat.

6. Sleeping in a CTO brace is tough, You can't turn sides or sleep on your stomach. Do turn on your side from time to time, holding someone and exactly how a piece of log would turn. Stay in the position to get some air on the back and then roll right back. Be very very careful about not getting bed sores. 

 I remove the front part of the brace while sleeping as my jaw hurts too much. I've checked with my doctor and he said it's OK to remove it while sleeping. I don't know if there are any exercises that I can do for my jaw but hopefully it's not a big deal. 

7. Eating is not very convenient as the brace will restrict your ability to open your mouth too much. Avoid burgers, big sandwiches, sadly even sushi was a little tough to eat.

There are some other ways to eat though. Very entertaining! 

8. Talking on the phone has never been easier. You don't even need earphones anymore. Just stick the phone into the straps next to your ear and TA-DA!

9. People will stare. Let them. They don't know better. I was affected by it too but I had to ignore them. Just put on your sunglasses and walk like a champion (hold someones hand while you're being a champion though). 

A lot of people feel that you should not read too much about the injury, possible procedures, options you have, types of braces available, other peoples stories but personally I find all the available information to be very satisfying, knowing that there are other people who have gone through similar things helps a lot. Keep reading!

Disclaimer : All the above points are based on my personal experience only.