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Old 03-14-2013, 11:56 AM
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Leesa Leesa is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Michigan
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Leesa Leesa is offline
Senior Member
Leesa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,424
10 yr Member
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It would be much better to have an MRI, which would show the soft tissue, such as the discs. But this is what it means:

The straightening of the cervical lordosis -- this means your neck doesn't have the curvature that it should have.

Degenerative changes of the cervical spine: This means that you have degenerative disc disease, which is drying out of the discs. They flatten and tend to bulge/herniate causing the disc space to become narrower. When the disc space narrows that means that the vertebra are getting closer together due to the upper one "sinking" down because the disc flattened.

Neuroforaminal narrowing at C5-6: The foramen are the holes that the nerves pass thru to get to the spinal cord. Your foramen are getting narrow at C5-6 level on the left.

Mild facet arthropathy - This means that the joints of the facets are diseased. Probably osteoarthritis. The facets are those "wing-like" structures on each side of the spinal cord, and you can see/feel them if you hunch your back over.

This isn't a bad or serious X-ray. But I'd rather see an MRI - there could be discs that are bulging or herniated, or other things that could be wrong. It's hard to say because an X-ray doesn't show anything but bone. An MRI shows both bone AND soft tissue. So it would have been better if he had done an MRI with and without contrast material. You might ask him to do one.

I wish you the very best. Keep us informed on what's going on, okay? Hugs, Lee
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recovering alcoholic, sober since 7-29-93;severe depression; 2 open spinal surgeries; severe sciatica since 1986; epidurals; trigger points; myelograms; Rhizotomy; Racz procedure; spinal cord stimulator implant (and later removal); morphine pump trial (didn't work);now inoperable; lumpectomy; radiation; breast cancer survivor; heart attack; fibromyalgia; on disability.



Often the test of courage is not to die, but to live..
.................................................. ...............Orestes
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