INTEGRATING QUANTITATIVE BONE IMAGING AND FUNCTIONAL PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSESSMENTS FOR EARLY DETECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF DEGENERATIVE SPINE DISORDERS

Abstract

Spine degeneration is one of the most common causes of musculoskeletal pain, disability, and decreased quality of life globally. The combination of spine degeneration, osteoporosis, and functional impairment creates diagnostic difficulties that require special attention to be paid to the development of appropriate assessment methods. The present study is devoted to the review of the existing scientific research on the use of quantitative bone imaging and functional physiotherapy tests to diagnose and manage spine degenerative disorders. To this end, peer-reviewed publications and clinical cases were analyzed in order to identify the developments in imaging techniques, bone quality evaluation, functional tests in physiotherapy, and diagnostics. The conclusions show that quantitative imaging modalities, including DEXA, QCT, MRI, and advanced imaging biomarkers, give useful insights into vertebral integrity, bone quality, and structural degeneration. On the other hand, physiotherapy assessments of posture, mobility, muscular strength, balance, gait, pain, and disability supplement imaging findings through evaluation of the clinical impact of structural alterations. Integration of structural and functional assessments increases the diagnostic accuracy, allows for risk stratification, and facilitates the development of a personalized rehabilitation plan. Moreover, modern technologies such as AI, radiomics, wearables, and tele-rehabilitation systems bring new perspectives to precision spine care. Thus, combining quantitative bone imaging and physiotherapy functional assessment can be considered a basis for improvement of early diagnosis, rehabilitation, and treatment of spine degeneration disorders.