Library Collections: Document: Full Text

Not all braces, however, are helpful. Heavy, improperly designed and ill-fitting braces can be, and usually are, a detriment rather than an aid. A brace, to be efficient, must be designed to meet the particular needs of the part to which it is to be applied; it must be as light as is compatible with the work it is called upon to perform; it must be accurately fitted both for comfort and that it may work at a maximum of efficiency. If these three requisites are fulfilled, a brace will be comfortable and perform one hundred per cent for its possessor. Braces should be prescribed by a physician after careful examination and evaluation of the problem to be met in each individual case. No matter how skilful a brace-maker may be, he should not be relied upon to determine the type of brace to be used; the function of the brace-maker is to manufacture a brace according to the prescription submitted by the examining physician, just as a druggist fills a prescription for medicine. The druggist does not prescribe for illness, nor should a mechanic prescribe a brace, to meet conditions about which he can have but superficial knowledge at best.

To those who need help and support for impaired limbs and backs, braces are true friends and helpmates, but, as with friends, they must be carefully chosen and cherished. Neither friendships nor braces can be expected to stand up under the demands of life if poorly chosen and treated with neglect.