Quote:
Originally Posted by seahorse02
Dr. Smith - I've seen great MRI's turned into laymen's terms from you and others. Would you mind deciphering mine as well? please
Grade I degenerative subluxation at L4-5 with bulge, annular tear, prominent facet arthropathy. Mass effect on the right lateral recess nerve root w/crowding of the left. Stress injury of the pedicle & pars region of L5.
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Umm... your lower back is really messed up and hurts like cuss?
Seriously, I'm flattered, but I think it must have been someone else, and there are several people here who are much more knowledgable/experienced than me (I?); I'll have to look most of those terms up myself, but I'll take a stab at it and defer to others' corrections/different interpretations.
I think you know what
degenerative means; it's deteriorating, and will continue to get progressively worse over time. This progression may be the natural result of aging; very slow (taking years to decades), and some natural healing may occur in the interim as the body tries to protect itself.
From:
http://www.spine-health.com/conditio...ndylolisthesis
Quote:
Degenerative spondylolisthesis is Latin for “slipped vertebral body”, and it is diagnosed when one vertebra slips forward over the one below it. This condition occurs as a consequence of the general aging process in which the bones, joints, and ligaments in the spine become weak and less able to hold the spinal column in alignment.
Degenerative spondylolisthesis is more common in people over age 50, and far more common in individuals older than 65. It is also more common in females than males by a 3:1 margin.
A degenerative spondylolisthesis typically occurs at one of two levels of the lumbar spine:
•The L4-L5 level of the lower spine (most common location)
•The L3-L4 level.
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From:
http://www.arachnoiditis.info/conten...listhesis.html
Quote:
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In any event, it takes quite a few years and not infrequently even decades for the segment to develop enough weakness to allow for subluxation.
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I would think that traumatic injury would be an exception to the above.
Paraphrased from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subluxation
Subluxation implies the presence of an incomplete or partial dislocation of (in this case) a joint. A spinal subluxation is relatively rare, but can sometimes impinge on spinal nerve roots, causing symptoms in the areas served by those roots. In the spine, such a displacement may be caused by a fracture, spondylolisthesis or severe osteoarthritis.
From:
http://www.mdguidelines.com/spondylolisthesis
Quote:
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The severity of subluxation is graded as follows: Grade I is 0% to 25%, Grade II is 26% to 50%, Grade III is 51% to 75%, and Grade IV is more than 75% of vertebral slippage as evidenced on x-ray (Devereaux).
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Since we're talking about the joint
between L4-L5, the
bulge and
annular tear are in the
disk. A
bulge is just that.
From:
http://www.laserspineinstitute.com/b...ular_tear/def/
Quote:
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When the tough exterior of an intervertebral disc (called the annulus fibrosus) rips, it is called an annular tear. This condition can occur along the outer edge of a disc, between the layers of the annulus fibrosus or can even start in the center and extend all the way to the outside*. Each type of tear will typically present a different level of pain (from non-existent to excruciating) and usually has a different cause.
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*(I have this type of annular tear at L5-S1)
The
facet joints are the joints of the spinal column - between the vertebrae.
Facet arthropathy essentially means arthritis of the facet joints. I believe
prominent in this context means
severe (subject to correction).
I'll need some help (or much more time) on the rest of it. Your doctor should be able to decipher and explain all this. Be firm and perseverent until you get satisfactory answers.
HTH,
Doc