Quote:
Originally Posted by ashersmom
Hi, I am needing some help interpreting an MRI I had on my C-spine. For a few years I've had numbness and pain down my right leg and in my neck, right shoulder, hands, etc. I have a lot of problems and I'm hoping this MRI explains them all. I am only 27 and this all happened right after I had my son who is now almost 4. I also had a brain MRI to check for MS, but it came back normal.
Normal signal is seen in the posterior fossa an cervical spinal cord. Loss of normal cervical lordosis is noted. Normal signal is seen in the bony cervical spine.
At c3/4, broad-based disc bulge is seen causing mild central stenosis and mild neural foraminal narrowing bilaterally.
At c4/5, broad-based disc bulge works with uncinate hypertrophy to cause moderate central stenosis and mild neural foraminal narrowing bilaterally.
At c5/6, patient has an eccentric to the right disc bulge which causes moderate central stenosis and mild bilateral neural formainal narrowing.
At c6/7, minimal disc bulging is seen but no significant central stenosis or neural foraminal narrowing is appreciated.
Impression: Multilevel degenerative disc and degenerative joint disease is seen especially at c4/5 and c5/6 as described above.
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All that going on in your c-spine will certainly cause problems. Have you ever experienced trauma to your neck? like maybe a car accident with whiplash injury?
I ask as that is a lot going on with your c-spine, and yes bulging discs are problematic.
Years back when mine was like that? I was in PT for a while, traction and a few other modalities. Then home program which included traction. My issues were secondary to trauma
Have you had your followup appointment with your doctor yet? If so, what has he/she recommended?
It is good news that your brain MRI is normal. That is one aspect of considering MS as the underlying cause
Concerning all those disc bulges in your c-spine. As for interpreting the central stenosis and mild neural foraminal narrowing, that could be due to the disc bulging. I see no mention of cord effacement which is a good thing. I had that before and thankfully it was resolved with PT.
As for interpreting the significance of the findings, probably best your doctor give you the bottom line. However, the symptoms you describe line up with central stenosis, as well as mild neural foraminal narrowing.
That neural foraminal area? If you were to look at a slice of your MRI c-spine, easy to notice where the spinal cord is. Then there is what appears to be a thin space between that and where the discs for lack of a better work are around the spinal cord. That is the neural foraminal if memory serves me correctly.
When discs bulge, they can impinge on that space which in turn can cause inflammation and put pressure to a degree on some of the nerves or nerve root in the affected region.
Central stenosis is sort of related to neural foraminal narrowing. I've had some central stenosis for years, from what is called osteophyte formation - like bone spurs (actually my prior MRI description on that years ago MRI actually specified that)
The symptoms you describe can most certainly be caused by the issues in your c-spine
Is a neurologist evaluating your c-spine? When I was being assessed for MS, it was my neurologist doing the rule out this and that. My brain MRI wasn't normal though back then. My spinal tap was inconclusive.
One thing I am in the habit of doing with my doctors, when it comes to MRI findings. I get the radiology report for myself, then when I followup with the doctor, I ask he explain ALL the MRI findings mean and how concerning short term vs long term are the findings. I like details from my doctors, not the simplified lay person version.
I'm so sorry you are going through this so young.