I am a 21 year old female with back pain of about a year.
I had to suffer for a year before getting an MRI because
"I am too young to be having these problems" and I just got my MRI results back and here are the findings:


The marrow spaces demonstrated no evidence of fractures or bone
bruises. The conus ended at the superior margin of L1 and had a
normal appearance. The L1-2, L2-3 and L3-4 levels were unremarkable.

L4-5 demonstrates a mild degree of degenerative disc disease with
tiny anterior and posterior osteophytes. There is a moderate size
central disc protrusion with a moderate degree of central dural sac
encroachment very slightly to left of the midline as well. AP
dimension of the dural sac was approximately 8.5 millimeters. There
was a suggestion of mild facet hypertrophic degenerative change.

L5-S1 level demonstrates minimal degenerative disc disease. Mild
facet hypertrophic degenerative changes were identified.

Impression
IMPRESSION:
1. Moderate sized central disc protrusion at L4-5 with the moderate
degenerative disc disease and moderate central dural sac encroachment.
2. Mild degenerative disc disease with a mild bulge at L5-S1.
3. Mild facet hypertrophic degenerative change L4-5 and L5-S1 without
neural foramen encroachment.

Surgery not recommended, the doctor recommended steroid injections and medication management and said it should be able to get better on its own. I am just trying to make better sense of these results as to the seriousness of this condition.I just got fired from my job due to being in a lot of pain and them not being willing to accommodate my condition better. And my insurance will be cancelled in about a week so I am not sure if I should do the injections or what to do.