Hi, I am needing some help interpreting an MRI I had on my C-spine. For a few years I've had numbness and pain down my right leg and in my neck, right shoulder, hands, etc. I have a lot of problems and I'm hoping this MRI explains them all. I am only 27 and this all happened right after I had my son who is now almost 4. I also had a brain MRI to check for MS, but it came back normal.



Normal signal is seen in the posterior fossa an cervical spinal cord. Loss of normal cervical lordosis is noted. Normal signal is seen in the bony cervical spine.

At c3/4, broad-based disc bulge is seen causing mild central stenosis and mild neural foraminal narrowing bilaterally.


At c4/5, broad-based disc bulge works with uncinate hypertrophy to cause moderate central stenosis and mild neural foraminal narrowing bilaterally.


At c5/6, patient has an eccentric to the right disc bulge which causes moderate central stenosis and mild bilateral neural formainal narrowing.


At c6/7, minimal disc bulging is seen but no significant central stenosis or neural foraminal narrowing is appreciated.


Impression: Multilevel degenerative disc and degenerative joint disease is seen especially at c4/5 and c5/6 as described above.

All that going on in your c-spine will certainly cause problems. Have you ever experienced trauma to your neck? like maybe a car accident with whiplash injury?

I ask as that is a lot going on with your c-spine, and yes bulging discs are problematic.

Years back when mine was like that? I was in PT for a while, traction and a few other modalities. Then home program which included traction. My issues were secondary to trauma

Have you had your followup appointment with your doctor yet? If so, what has he/she recommended?

It is good news that your brain MRI is normal. That is one aspect of considering MS as the underlying cause

Concerning all those disc bulges in your c-spine. As for interpreting the central stenosis and mild neural foraminal narrowing, that could be due to the disc bulging. I see no mention of cord effacement which is a good thing. I had that before and thankfully it was resolved with PT.

As for interpreting the significance of the findings, probably best your doctor give you the bottom line. However, the symptoms you describe line up with central stenosis, as well as mild neural foraminal narrowing.

That neural foraminal area? If you were to look at a slice of your MRI c-spine, easy to notice where the spinal cord is. Then there is what appears to be a thin space between that and where the discs for lack of a better work are around the spinal cord. That is the neural foraminal if memory serves me correctly.

When discs bulge, they can impinge on that space which in turn can cause inflammation and put pressure to a degree on some of the nerves or nerve root in the affected region.

Central stenosis is sort of related to neural foraminal narrowing. I've had some central stenosis for years, from what is called osteophyte formation - like bone spurs (actually my prior MRI description on that years ago MRI actually specified that)

The symptoms you describe can most certainly be caused by the issues in your c-spine

Is a neurologist evaluating your c-spine? When I was being assessed for MS, it was my neurologist doing the rule out this and that. My brain MRI wasn't normal though back then. My spinal tap was inconclusive.

One thing I am in the habit of doing with my doctors, when it comes to MRI findings. I get the radiology report for myself, then when I followup with the doctor, I ask he explain ALL the MRI findings mean and how concerning short term vs long term are the findings. I like details from my doctors, not the simplified lay person version.

I'm so sorry you are going through this so young.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am currently just seeing a family doctor. I don't have insurance, so I haven't been able to afford to see a Neurologist yet. My family doctor is actually on vacation this week, so I haven't gotten to talk with him about the results. I know he previously believed the numbness down my right leg is causes by Piriformis Sydrome since it occurred right after the birth of my son and my lumbar MRI back in Feb. didn't show any stenosis or herniated disc, only Ligamentum Flavum Hypertrophy and arthritis, which wasn't causing the numbness and pain. I was rear ended several years ago and had whiplash and my neck was burning like fire, but I never went to the doctor. I also was a passenger in a vehicle in high school and we got rear ended very hard. I already had neck and back pain in high school before any of that. Before I had my son, I had started having pain in my hands, then about a year after I had him I started having the severe neck pain and it started radiating into my shoulder and turning into numbness, and then spread down my arm and into my hand. My right hand is in bad shape, sometimes I can barley use it. I also get numbness in the right side of my scalp and ear, and lately have been noticing it more and more around my mouth. That side of my face just feels so weird all the time now. I wake up every morning with the sensation that my hands and feet are swollen, but don't appear swollen and my feet have pins and needles sensation in the mornings. They also feel swollen in the evenings. For the past year I have been having horrible rib pain!!! It started in my lower right rib and has spread into both and wraps completely around my back. Sometimes all I can do is just hold my ribs and put pressure on them. My upper back pain has increased so much this year and at times my lower back about kills me too. I don't know what happened to me! I was a mostly healthy 23 year old and then BAM! had a baby and now all these issues! Right before I had my son I had a recurring case of MRSA and a miscarriage...but I don't think it is related. My pregnancy went fine until I got near the 3rd trimester and started having EXTREMELY PAINFUL right side hip pain. I couldn't get any sleep for the pain being so bad and couldn't' take anything for it. The last 2 months, I've been having right side chest pain randomly and heaviness and some pain in my lungs, like I'm smothering, but I can still breathe fine. I was convinced I probably had MS, but now I'm not so sure. I feel so old and I'm not sure people will believe a 27 year old is in such bad shape!

With this new information about the previous accidents and such, I would suggest seeking out a very good chiropractor.
I don't know if you have thought about that option or not.

But with those other accidents your spine has to have gotten misaligned.
Some MD's just don't suggest or mention Chiropractic for whatever reason.

But there are some very good ones to be found and often less costly that PT sessions.
You could just take your report & films if you have them all, and go for some evaluations to see what a chiro suggests. You don't have to allow any treatment if you aren't sure of it, or them.
Some will do an eval for free and some will work with you if no insurance.

I have thought about seeing a Chiropractor and I may just try to do that. I saw one for years when I was in high school, but I can't remember if it really even helped me. I know some people don't really "believe" in them. I don't really know. I know it does feel nice to go and get worked on, but you do always have to go back to get fixed up again. I may try to find a good reputable one here and give it a shot. I know I want one with a massage therapist for sure! Thanks for the advice.

If you have long standing issues , it does take longer in most cases to resolve or help , as the body will try to go back to the way it has been for many years..

It usually takes time to relearn the new fixed positions.

How old is your doctor? I've found that younger doctors tend to put more faith into chiropractic treatment than older ones do. That's probably because chiropractic used to thought of as "voodoo" medicine, but it's been realized that it can be very effective. Depending on the severity of your condition, it might take numerous visits before you notice results, or you may see improvement immediately. Either way, if you decide to seek out this treatment option, don't give up on it right away if you don't see positive results; it might take awhile.

To chiropractor or not to chiropractor… (my opinion only) only if it’s a REALLY good chiropractor. The issue is the central stenosis that the radiologist has noted. This means that the disk has expanded into the center of the spine where the cord traverses. Since the term moderate is relative you must be sure that the chiropractor is conservative in their reading of the MRI. If there is any danger of causing the present condition (encroachment on the cord) to worsen you should take a pass on that type of treatment.

There are a few terms (medical talk) you should understand:
Hypertrophy: the enlargement or overgrowth of an organ or part due to an increase in size of its constituent cells. This is usually not bone but tissue such as scar tissue.
Foramen or Neuroforamen: small openings in the spine where the nerves exit
Foraminal: referring to the foramen
Stenosis: narrowing of something in spine the central canal, facets or the foramina
Uncinate means hooked so they are describing the mass that is in the form of a hook.

Go to Wikipedia and search on Human vertebral column OMG what a fantastic reference. Also search on Spinal stenosis. There are so many answers there!!!!

At the C5-6 level, there is a small posterior disc bulge and uncovertebral arthrosis which results in mild spinal stenosis. There is a mild mass effect on the anterior aspect of the cervical cord. The central canal measures 9 mm in AP dimensions at this level.

What does this mean?

Welcome electrode1.