Hi all,
I am a thirty-two year old female who recently was rear-ended in an auto accident and came out with a hurt back. Two weeks after the accident my lower back feels like its on fire and there is a stretching pulling feeling that goes down the back of my legs. There is sharp pain that extends down to my feet. And there are several areas on my back that feel like I am being pinched--one is in the middle of my back (like down my spine) and another is at the top of the back of my neck and the other feels like its right below my left shoulder blade. In the past few days I have started to feel sharp pains radiating throughout the left side of my body. My lower back and buttock feel like I'm being stuck with pins when its touched. I had Xray on the back twice and its normal, per dr.'s. Here are my MRI results, dr. basically dismissed the results and says they are normal too and that these results do not show that I should be experiencing pain. Can anyone help me read and interpret these results? I am in pain daily and I need to know if the dr. is missing something. Please help!

L3-4 No significant disk bulge. Mild facet hypertrophy
L4-5 Minimal disk bulge. Mild facet hypertrophy
L5-S1 Minimal disk bulge. Mild facet hypertrophy

Mild hypertrophic change and fluid seen in the visualized upper S1 joints. possible reactive marrow edema incompletely seen in the sacrum.

Mild lower lumbar degenerative changes. Mild S1 joint arthritis incompletely seen

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Hi mommy,
Sorry you are in pain.onmy nook so my typos will be around. I am not a doc, but I can help just a bit. You may be experiencingmore of muscle spasms from the injury. This and some trauma is enough to cause pain. Try conservative treatment, acue puncture,deep massage with a physical therapist. Any time your mri states, minimal or mild, count that as a gift. Surgery is a last resort when all else fails. Mri would have to say along the lines of, severe,chronic, nerve compression etc. For you to go the surgery route. Pt does work, not chiropractors, but physical therapy. This should help with the pain, and start you on the road to recovery. I wish you all the best. Ginnie

Dr didn't suggest any PT??
Seems like that would be a given or at least to try it..

Or,
If you can locate a highly skilled and expert chiropractor, they may be of help with your symptoms & pain levels...
especially if they also do soft tissue therapies..
Mine helped me so much for my muscle spasms and misalignments.

Mommyto6: Yes, I am doing PT 3x's a week with a chiropractor while I am having MRIs and Xrays done through an internal medicine dr. The PT is very painful. It consists of 15 minutes a day on a rolling massage table.

Mommyto6: Thanks for the speedy reply. My MRI was w/o contrast, will a w/ contrast help see if there is any real damage or nerve damage? I am in pain and unable to work. Any idea why my Dr. would dismiss "marrow edema"? Doesn't that mean swelling. Any reading on the arthritis in the S1? Thanks so much for any help.

Is that rolling table the only thing ?
I was on a table like that a few times , supposedly it is to open up the spaces in the vertebra, so no real way to know if it really is doing that.. unless you do find you are having less pain after awhile..

I felt like it was a easy way for the place to make a buck..
I really needed hands on therapy, not a machine that seemed to be waste of my time.. If that table is not helping you tell them.
Why pay for a treatment that is not doing you any good..?
If they won't listen to you. go somewhere else.
I've been to many PT places with repetitive injuries and some are much better than others. Same for chiropractors I'm sure.

The swelling may be part of the injury. I believe this will go down. The one vertebra isn't bad enough to justify the pain you are in. I have a different opinion that Jo* Mar does for therapy. I am not a fan of chiropractic intervention. This is based on my own experience, and not from any one elses' opinions. I believe in PT, as my son happens to be one. He gets the patients that have had bad experiences with chiropractic. If you are slightly herniated, you don't want to make it worse, but have it calm down and go back into place. Massage, gentle excersises with PT do a great deal of good. I have had a lot of PT. I am fused C3-7. This got me into better shape so my mobility and pain is better after these sessions. Ask your doctor about PT. I sure hope you get some relief. ginnie

Update: internal medicine dr says my MRI is "normal" and did not bother to elaborate each of the findings. He said 80% of us walk around with these findings on a daily basis and moved on to other things in my chart. He referred me to a Ortho Dr. who said MRI is "normal", gave me 2 more weeks of physical therapy and dismissed me. I was in so much pain that a few hours later I went to the ER (my neck hurts really bad in the back and on the side of my neck, shoulders hurt and pain is tingling and numbing down my arms). ER Dr. did a CT and said it was normal, but disagreed that my MRI from the other Drs was normal. ER said when other symptoms are present these type of findings are not normal and referred me to another Ortho for another MRI. ER diagnosis was cervical radiculopathy. I am in such pain and need to know what is causing it. My accident was low impact and there is barely any damage to my car. The pain, aches, and such did not start until after the accident. Any other ideas on what I can do to narrow down the pain, tests, other drs. By the way, I am seeing a network of drs my lawyer refers me to, these drs. are quick to dismiss me without asking about my pain, symptoms, etc. They just jot down notes and move on to the next client.

Hang in there, and do the PT. Your pain should be addressed however. You may need to seek a pain specialist until the findings are clear. Your PCP can give you a referral. Also a neurologist, as a second or third opinion. I sure hope you heal. ginnie

Update: Thanks all for your responses. I seen a neuro dr today who looked at my MRI report, films, and chart and says he believes he sees the problem. He didn't say what that problem was only that he would send me for some more test that may confirm his opinion. He was in a hurry as there was a line of patients in the waiting room and his cell was buzzing. He jotted some notes in what seemed to be a book worth of papers, tapped my knees (no initial reaction and then left leg shot forward), did a quick exam over the areas that hurt. He is sending me for another MRI w/ contrast this time. He is also sending me for EMG. He did mention the sensory nerve may be a problem. He also tried to quickly explain something about a ball and an opening at the top of something while looking at my lumbar MRI films. He was comparing one of my MRI films with another and said that could be causing me some discomfort. Not sure what he was explaining as I was in pain and trying to follow through his hurried consult. Any ideas on what he may have been explaining? Thanks all.