To find out the relationship between the initial Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) findings and the progression of vertebra collapse when treated with Jewett brace in osteoporotic stable thoracolumbar fractures.

We divided 38 cases of 37 patients of thoracolumbar osteoporotic stable thoracolumbar fractures who were treated with Jewett brace into two groups. One group was composed of those body collapse progressed more than 10% compared with the initial state, and the other group less than 10%. We analyzed the relationships between the progression of collapse and the superior endplate fractures, the fracture line extending to posterior cortex, the size of bone marrow edema, the signal intensity on T1 and T2 weighted MR images, the presence of paravertebral hematoma, and the degree of posterior extensor muscle atrophy using MR images.

The body collapse was more likely to progress when there was superior endplate fracture, when it showed larger size of bone marrow edema on T1 weighted image, and transverse low signal on T2 weighted image. But extending of fracture line to posterior cortex, presence of paravertebral hematoma, and degree of posterior extensor muscle atrophy did not show any statistical correlations to progression of collapse.

The body collapse is more likely to progress when there was superior endplate fracture, larger low signal on T1 weighted image and low signal on T2 weighted image at initial MRI treated with Jewett brace.