[Eddie2099]

i just recently stumbled onto this site tonight after being given the lab report for an MRI that was performed on my back at the end of February of this year and I am trying to better understand what the results mean and what might happen as a result, any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Indication: Low back pain with radiculopathy

Findings: There is no fracture or destructive process identified in the visualized bones. There is a Schmorl's node involving the superior aspect of L1 with reactive signal change in the adjacent bone marrow. There is no bone marrow edema. The distal cord and concus have a normal appearance.

There is a mild disc bulging at T11-T12 and T-12-L1.

The L1-L2, L2-L3 and L3-L4 disc levels are within normal limits

There is mild disc desiccation of the disc at L4-L5.

The L5-S1 disc level is within normal limits.

Impression: Mild multilevel spondylosis. No disc protrustion, spinal stenosis or nerve root impingement is present.

[Leesa]

I'll TRY to help, but I'm NOT A DOCTOR:

A Schmorl's node is the protrusion of the nucleus propulsus (a group of nerve cells) into the spongy part of the vertebra and this has a reactive signal change.
A "signal" is a measure of activity in nerve cells indicated by frequency of discharge.

T11-12 and T12-L1 - Mild disc bulging (no herniation)

L4-5 - mild disc dessication -- this means the disc is drying out. When the disc dries out, it flattens and CAN cause it to bulge, although there is no indication that this disc is bulging.

All other levels are within normal limits.

Impression: Multilevel spondylosis - The actual meaning of this is "any of various degenerative diseases of the spine." So I'm ASSUMING it could be degenerative disc disease (drying out of discs) or a number of things of which you should TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT.


This is a GREAT MRI -- what symptoms are you having? Do you have pain, numbness, tingling or anything like that? I sure wish MY MRI looked like this. LOL If you're having a lot of trouble, get another opinion. Best of luck and God bless. Hugs, Lee

[Eddie2099]

Originally Posted by Leesa

I'll TRY to help, but I'm NOT A DOCTOR:

A Schmorl's node is the protrusion of the nucleus propulsus (a group of nerve cells) into the spongy part of the vertebra and this has a reactive signal change.
A "signal" is a measure of activity in nerve cells indicated by frequency of discharge.

T11-12 and T12-L1 - Mild disc bulging (no herniation)

L4-5 - mild disc dessication -- this means the disc is drying out. When the disc dries out, it flattens and CAN cause it to bulge, although there is no indication that this disc is bulging.

All other levels are within normal limits.

Impression: Multilevel spondylosis - The actual meaning of this is "any of various degenerative diseases of the spine." So I'm ASSUMING it could be degenerative disc disease (drying out of discs) or a number of things of which you should TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT.


This is a GREAT MRI -- what symptoms are you having? Do you have pain, numbness, tingling or anything like that? I sure wish MY MRI looked like this. LOL If you're having a lot of trouble, get another opinion. Best of luck and God bless. Hugs, Lee

Thank you for your explaining it to me, I see my doctor next week but I have just been waiting for almost a month now to find out the results of the MRI and it arrived in the mail last night.

I am currently in physical therapy for my hands and ankles and I had the results sent to them earlier this month but they wouldn't even tell me anything (which is understandable) so it is mainly the not knowing that has started to worry me but I am at somewhat at ease now after hearing your input.

I am currently experiencing numbness,tingling and weakness in both of my hands but mainly in my left hand, weak wobbly knees, sore ankles, thighs, shoulders and my neck has been giving me issues lately as well along with heavy pain in my upper and lower back mainly my lower; when I bend down and stand back up I feel disoriented for a while and have to stand still for a while until it passes.

There will also be times where my hands go really numb and the middle finger on my left hand feels like it feel asleep when I try to feel it and I also experience a moment of weakness in my body when this happens and I feel disoriented but it does pass, I had a spell that happened Thursday where my left index finger also "fell asleep" while I was walking.

[Leesa]

Gosh, Eddie I can't see THIS Mri causing all those symptoms. You might want to get an MRI of your cervical spine (neck) and see if that is where your problem lies. The neck can effect the arms and hands a great deal, so perhaps that is where it's coming from.

Also, the light-headedness should be considered too, so ask your doc for the cervical Mri. Hopefully he'll agree and go ahead and do it. I hope so. If he does, post it here again and we can help you out. Best of luck and God bless. Hugs, Lee

[Eddie2099]

Originally Posted by Leesa

Gosh, Eddie I can't see THIS Mri causing all those symptoms. You might want to get an MRI of your cervical spine (neck) and see if that is where your problem lies. The neck can effect the arms and hands a great deal, so perhaps that is where it's coming from.

Also, the light-headedness should be considered too, so ask your doc for the cervical Mri. Hopefully he'll agree and go ahead and do it. I hope so. If he does, post it here again and we can help you out. Best of luck and God bless. Hugs, Lee

Will be seeing my doctor Thursday so I am trying to hold out until then and will definitely bring that up.

On Sunday my right foot fell asleep at work and stayed asleep for a long time and now both of feet are also experiencing tingling which also happens in the back of my legs too but will bring this to his attention as well; I had called my doctor's advice nurse that night explaining the situation to them and they said since I wasn't in pain I should wait until Thursday or try to schedule to see him sooner but can't fit in anything before then.

Am debating on going to the emergency room or not but am trying to wait until Thursday.

[Jomar]

An advanced PT person should be able to do a full evaluation and that might help the drs narrow the possible issues down.

MRI is good for showing what might be a cause or not, but sometimes a hands on evaluation is needed, or even blood work to check deeper to rule out certain other conditions. If you are just starting to track this down I'm sure dr will explore fully. If not seek out another dr.

I you had the hand issues before the MRI, why wasn't a c spine MRI done at the same time?
But if no hand pain only falling asleep? Could be blood flow issues?

What kind of work did you do or do now?
desk work, very repetitive, overhead?
Some of the upper body sx could be related to posture and uses over long time..

Does changing position of legs/feet make any difference when they fall asleep?

My dad had a calcium deposit on his lower spine that would cause his foot to fall asleep and be weaker, once it was cleaned out he has much better mobility.

[Eddie2099]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

An advanced PT person should be able to do a full evaluation and that might help the drs narrow the possible issues down.

MRI is good for showing what might be a cause or not, but sometimes a hands on evaluation is needed, or even blood work to check deeper to rule out certain other conditions. If you are just starting to track this down I'm sure dr will explore fully. If not seek out another dr.

If you had the hand issues before the MRI, why wasn't a c spine MRI done at the same time?
But if no hand pain only falling asleep? Could be blood flow issues?

What kind of work did you do or do now?
desk work, very repetitive, overhead?
Some of the upper body sx could be related to posture and uses over long time..

Yes I have had the issues with my hands for a few months now, it could possibly be blood flow issues but I am not sure.

Right now I work as a cashier at a grocery store and I am only on light duty so I am under orders to do no bending or lifting which pretty much limits the actual work that I can do there but the company that I work for has been fair in keeping me working while we wait to find out what is wrong.

[Eddie2099]

Thank you for all of the help figuring out the MRI results for my back, just thought I should share more on it.

I was diagnosed with having arthritis in my spine after my visit to the back specialist last month and I just had a nerve conduction test today on my hands and neck that has revealed I am suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and pinched nerves in both hands and I have pinched nerves in my neck as well.

The tingling in my feet has not been addressed however but I will be finding out more in two weeks when I see the hand specialist I am seeing regarding where I go from here, thank you again.

[Dubious]

Originally Posted by Eddie2099

Thank you for all of the help figuring out the MRI results for my back, just thought I should share more on it.

I was diagnosed with having arthritis in my spine after my visit to the back specialist last month and I just had a nerve conduction test today on my hands and neck that has revealed I am suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and pinched nerves in both hands and I have pinched nerves in my neck as well.

The tingling in my feet has not been addressed however but I will be finding out more in two weeks when I see the hand specialist I am seeing regarding where I go from here, thank you again.

Hey Eddie,

I have some thoughts but frankly I am tired of getting swatted down after offering help, lately, So this may be my last post.

First, I agree with with Jomar that MRI result do not "show" pain, rather they just correlate prior clinical suspicions. I have been attacked for stating the same numerous times but that fact just, is what it is. And while advanced PT's (Jomar I assume you mean a DPT) might have more diagnostic accumen, almost all PT's do not have clinical diagnostic training, rather they learn "assesment." I would go with a DPT if you have a choice. Most PT's won't enter the diagnostic realm as they are not trained for such and are very uncomfortable clinically and legally doing that.

That said, your lumbar MRI doesn't show much more than mildly degenerative this or that. It doesn't obviously address your lumbar "radiculopathy" which was a pre-study impression but then again we don't know what your subjective complaints are or your clinical findings (your doc does).

One thought that comes to mind when someone generally mentions multi-limb pain, numbness, tingling or symptoms in general and the MRI's are apparently benign, are metabolic disease or possibly demyelinating issues. There are other reasons and certainly a cervical MRI or even a thoracic MRI might be in order since you seem not to have a clear clinical cause for your issues and in rarer cases, lower extremity symptoms can come from the neck and even the mid back. You mentioned you get wobbly when rising from a bent-over position and must hesitate until you get your bearings so I wonder about blood volume loss or even cardiac deficiency as being part of the problem.

I wish the best for you and for anyone else who wants to attack me again, go pound sand.

[Leesa]

Hey Dubious ~ PLEASE don't leave us!!! We NEED you around here. If someone attacks, tell them just what you said --- go pound sand, or better yet, go EAT sand. LOL

Heck, without you around here, how are we gonna make sense of stuff? Please don't leave us. Anyone who attacks you is just plain JEALOUS anyway!!

So don't take it personally. Please stick with us, will ya? I know *I* need you around here to help me help others, cause I ain't got all my ducks in a row.

Hugs, Lee