Help Cervical MRI
 

i have had horrible neck pain for some time ( years) I finally got an MRI can anyone tell me if you see anything to worry about? I'm a 41 year old female. Right now my doc just has me on narcotic pain Medes 10/325 , but I'd like to ensure I have liver function left in 10-20 years so don't want to keep taking such high doses. I'm seeing words like cyst, bulge, protrusion etc and don't really under stand what it all means or if it's just normal aging ??
Details
Narrative
MR cervical spine without contrast:

HISTORY: 41-year-old with chronic neck pain.

TECHNIQUE: MR imaging of the cervical spine was performed on 9/25/2015
using multiple planes and multiple sequences. No intravenous contrast
was administered.

COMPARISON: Cervical spine x-rays from 5/8/2014

FINDINGS:

There is straightening of the cervical lordosis. The cervical thoracic
junction is well aligned. The heights of the vertebral bodies are
maintained. There is no evidence of compression fracture or
spondylolisthesis. The intervertebral spaces heights are maintained.
There is subtle disc desiccation throughout the cervical spine. There
is no bone marrow signal abnormality. There could be subtle
ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

The cord signal is normal. The partial evaluation of the cerebellar
tonsils and foramen magnum is unremarkable.

C2-C3: There is mild right facet disease. There is moderate right
foramina narrowing. The left foramen is patent. There is no central
canal stenosis.

C3-C4: There is disc osteophyte complex, moderate to severe right facet
disease. There is moderate to severe right foraminal stenosis. The left
foramen is patent. There is no central canal narrowing.

C4-C5: There is mild right facet disease and minimal disc bulge,
without foramina narrowing or central canal stenosis.

C5-C6: There is mild bilateral facet disease with a miniscule left
facet 3 mm synovial cyst. There is no significant disc bulge. There is
mild left foramina narrowing. The right foramen is patent. There is no
central canal stenosis

C6-C7: There is central disc protrusion. There is no foramina
narrowing. There is mild effacement of the chest is signal, without
central canal stenosis.

C7-T1: Unremarkable.

Impression
Straightening of the cervical lordosis.
Equivocal ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, that can
be associated to ankylosing spondylitis or diffuse idiopathic skeletal
hyperostosis
Spondylotic degenerative changes, resulting in moderate right foramina
narrowing at C2-C3 and moderate to severe right foraminal stenosis at
C3-C4.
Central disc protrusion at C6-C7, with mild effacement of the anterior
CSF signal, without central canal
:(

Hi! I did a quick search and have some knowledge about the body and medical lingo.

Here is what I was able to figure out...

facet disease = wear and tear on the facet joints of your spine similar to osteoarthritis....the pain with this is going to be similar to a herniated disc

This means that the cartilage in your spine has been compromised either through wear and tear or trauma.

The words "unremarkable" are a good thing. This means that nothing is wrong with that part.

Cysts happen...they're part of being alive and are treatable.

The words bulging means something is quite swollen. This could be a result of the facet disease and your doctors will tell you what the best option for treatment is.

You could ask for a referral to a pain clinic to get the pain managed with the least amount of pain killers as possible, if you are worried about the ramifications of them.

I hope that this helps.