Structural Remodeling of the Lumbar Spine Following Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression: An Automated MRI Study

Background and Objectives: To investigate MRI changes using SpineReport (r20260928) following non-surgical spinal decompression (NSSD) in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP). We conducted a retrospective review of patients treated with NSSD who obtained MRI within 6 months of treatment initiation.

Methods

Thirty-six subjects (20 F, 16 M), with a mean age of 55.9 ± 16.4 years, were treated at the USF Health Chiropractic Clinic, Department of Neurosurgery, Brain & Spine. NSSD using DRX9000® (Excite Medical, Tampa, FL, USA) was utilized, with a median of 20 (20, 25) treatments. Treatment levels included L3 (n = 2), L4 (n = 18), and L5 (n = 16). Sagittal T2-weighted images were processed using TotalSpineSeg (r20251124) for automated segmentation, with SpineReport used to quantify disc, vertebrae, spinal canal, and intervertebral foramen metrics.