Cervical MRI that has left me confused and not knowing my next step....
 

Hello everyone. I am new here and am grateful to find some where to find answers and support. I recently had a MRI on my cervical spine and it has left me more confused than ever. I won't write out everything it stated(3 pages) I will only say the most prominent parts. Please if anyone can help me understand what this means and if I should take more steps let me know. Thank you. Hi, I just received my mri results back and have been left very confused. It states this; Reversal of the normal cervical lordosis suggestive of underlying muscular spasm. Congenital narrowing of the spinal canal on the basis of short pedicles. Post surgical changes following anterior cervical fusion at c6-7. Disk bulging at C3-4, C4-5, C5-6, and C7-T1 most severe at C5-6. Midline posterior disk herniation and associated radial tear at C6-7. Approximation of the spinal cord at C5-6. Neural encroachment as detailed above. Probable perinueral cyst within the left neural foramen at T1-2. Left paracentral posterior disk herniatation and associated radial tear at T1-2.
Above all this it states severe bilateral foramianal stenosis from C3-4 through C5-6 Above and below those the other levels say moderate to severe. C2-3 is the only one that shows nothing wrong. Also bilateral facet hypertrophy at all levels as well as ventral and dorsal impingment at C5-6 and C6-7.
Is there anyway to understand what all this actually means and what would be the best steps for me? Is it important to have the MRI with contrast they're recommending for my thorasic spine.

Hi Alice, welcome.

Yes, but it takes a little effort. At the top right of the forum page is a link to Medline's Medical Dictionary, which can define a lot of that terminology. You can find the rest via goggle—articles like this one:

Understanding MRI Results

Due to the findings at T1-T2 (which are the first 2 vertebrae of the thoracic spine), IMO it's a good idea to get the thoracic MRI.

Doc

Hi Doc,
Actually using google and looking up all the terms is what ended up brining me here. A lot of what I read scared me and left me feeling that maybe things are a little more serious than what I've chosen to believe. I just turned 44 in Jan and feel that if this is what it seems like then my next 20 years aren't going to be very pleasent. :/ I had a MRI on my lumbar spine 2 years ago and a lot of the same terminology was used in that report. Now that they're saying something about the thrashing spine and the thecal sac I have gotten quite nervous. Thank you for your reply and your advice. I'm going to ask to schedule the MRI on the 26th. (My next appt).

I meant thorasic spine. Sorry. Auto correct caught me when I wasn't looking.