Can anyone put this MRI report into plain english for me.

L4-5 left lateral recess disc bulge with mild left neural foraminal stenosis inferiorly, there is mild effacement of the ventral thecal sac.
L5-S1, broad disc bulge, eccentric to the left, with posterior element hypertrophic change, without appreciable mass effect.

I have symptoms of my right leg going numb, especiall when I'm sitting or laying, pain in my right buttock which can be severe usually when I'm laying or it wakes me up at night. Pain into my groin again right side, and then sometimes pain on the side of my right hip. All my pain and symptoms pertain to my right side.
I did have an EMG test which showed mild nerve damage.

I just want to know what the MRI means in plain english.
Thanks!
DaisyMae

Hi, DaisyMae .

To find out what some terms mean in my reports - before going over them with my doctors - I've used the following:

http://www.asnr.org/spine_nomenclature/glossary.shtml

http://www.whiplash101.com/welcome_to_read_my_mri.htm


Some of the sites listed in this post might help, too:

http://forums.braintalk2.org/showpos...25&postcount=4

Basically, your mri is saying "we see nothing on the right to cause your symptoms".

L4-5 left lateral recess disc bulge with mild left neural foraminal stenosis inferiorly, there is mild effacement of the ventral thecal sac.

You have a disc bulging on the left at this level, narrowing the space that the L4-5 nerve root exits through. Also, it presses slighting against one of the membranes which surrounds the spinal cord and it's tail, the cauda equina

L5-S1, broad disc bulge, eccentric to the left, with posterior element hypertrophic change, without appreciable mass effect. This disc is bulging a bit to the left, but they are not saying it compromises anything. The long ligament which goes down the back of spine, inside the spinal canal, is thicker than one would wish, but not narrowing the spinal canal, or they'd have said it. Worth watching, because this is one of the elements which can contribute to narrowing of the canal, along with posteriorly bulging disks.