MRI and EMG findings can mean or not mean anything and must corollated with your symptoms and findings. What exactly are you present complaints?

Terrible neck pain and head aches, uncontrollable back spasmas that brings me to my knees and I will need help gettting to a seat or bed, sometimes I even crawl to bed, I can't stand in one position for more than 5 mins without increase pain, walking makes my hips legs and back hurt, I can't bend to look or pickup anything without a burning acheing pain in my lower back, my right arm have pain radiating down to my fingers, my knees take turns going out(feel like they pop out of place) my wrist aches daily with cold, numb and tingling feelings. Sometimes my feet feel like they have cramps at the top and my toes also, it hard to walk and painful to. I feel like I ran a mile when I get up to get a glass of water or answer the door.
It hurts to sit down and getting up from a seat is even harder and painful. I wake up with neck and back pain daily, sometimes I have unbareable pain that prevent me from getting out of bed at all, especially when the migranes, neck pain and back pain are all at the sametime it's the worst. I forgot to mention the finger cramps if I attemp to use a can opener or try to open a soda.

The most pronounced findings in relation to your complaints would seem to be:

C4-C6 actually fused together wrong

C3-C4 Demonstrates posterior disc osteophyte complex causing moderate impingement. Unconvertabral degeneration results in mild foraminal narrowing.

C4-C5 There is posterior disc osteophyte complex causing moderate stenosis. There is moderate to severe bilateral foraminal narrowinh due to unconvertabral and facet degeneration.

On sagittal view, degenerated disc with disc space lost is seen at T11-T12 Generalized bulge is present effacinh the anterior subaracnoid space and appear to abut the cord but not causing cord impingement. There is overall mild central stenosis.

EMG Impression: There is evidence for a right median neuropathy at the wrist, that is moderate to severe. In addition, there appears tobe an old chronic right C5 Radiculopathy.

These are very busy studies. Your statement that the fusion healed wrong suggest a sharp kyphotic curve at that level which increases cord impingment issues. There are other frank issue of central stenosis which suggests cord impingment. Cord compression could account for pain in general and your lower and upper extremity weakness and cramping. There are also levels on the MRI that would suggest compression of the exiting nerve roots.

Facet joint degeneration and/or associated spasms could account for your headaches. EMG evidence suggest a rather severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome and an old C5 nerve root injury (controls muscles of the shoulders and arms)

There are of course other complicating issues or contributory problems not addressed by the MRI and EMG that could exist. MR myelogram would be helpful. I think you need a really damned good neurologist or neurosurgeon to walk you through this!

You're so right, I didn't mention complete reversal of lordosis, this is another one of my diagnosis. I will be sitting down with my Neurosurgeon this week, I think it's time I ask more question, especially about the MR Myelogram. This time if I don't understan his answer, instead of blowing it off or trying to figuard it out on my own, I will ask him to re-explain it in a way I can understand. Thank you so much, I understand now.

Indy-pain ~ Yes, degenerative disc disease, and degenerative arthritis, will both continue to get worse. There is no way to stop them. I also have both, and to be frank, it stinks! LOL It's pretty darn painful, and I'm now on SS disability due to that and due to the 2 surgeries I had.

I hope your pain is being controlled adequately. If not, find a doctor who will precribe what you need. God bless and take care. Hugs, Lee

Yea, you're correct, this will only get worse, I've been warned back in 2004, byt he Physical Therapy, and as usual hard-headed, wouldn't do my therapy like I was told to and as time went on completely stopped. Now here I am years later feeling like I broke my neck and my back all over again. I have plenty of pain medication to ease the pain, but never completely stop the pain, I've gotten use to it now, but it still get overwhelming on the bad days which seem to be increasing more and more....now. I have a great Neuro!!!
I haven't had surgery as of yet, but I've had a couple of steriods injection in my back and recently one in my left wrist, I should be getting a call from the hand surgeon office to schedule my carpal tunnel surgery for my right wrist. The neuro said since the Lyrica is helping with the pinch nerve in my neck, he's gonna put off the surgery for that and come see him in the next three months, and we will review the option to have C5 surgery done.

Do you have a good pain doctor they can help a lot I live in Indy and have a great one it makes a deference

Hi,

I've poked around this site for a month or two now. There are many posts where sufferers have cut and paste thier MRI findings and asked for interpretation.

If this has not already been stated, everyone needs to do this with an incredible grain of salt! Unless the responder is trained in reading MRI's, it is all mystical rhetoric. And even then, MRI's are rarely exclusively diagnostic and are ordered to verify and substantiate clinical findings. They are supportive in nature. I do understand the impulse to throw ones findings out there for the masses, but you mine as well throw out an adjacent question for someone to "describe the universe using examples."

I only bring this up as I have watched very few threads evolve into anything that was helpful and I've seen some that could potentially hurt the poster. Please, just wait for your doc to explain your MRI findings at follow up AND relate those findings to your clinical exam findings and history.

Please do not misunderstand my intentions, I just hate to think that someone may get hurt!!!!