I see a PM doctor for chronic migraines and after having other symptoms she referred me for an MRI for my lumbar and am being treated with epidural injections.
While in her office I explained I was also experiencing numbness in my my thumb and pain between my shoulder blades. I get shooting pain when raising my arms over my head. Pulling shirts on has become painful. She has given me steroid injections and botox injections in my neck and shoulders prior to having the MRI.
I am hoping you can give your opinion of the MRI results. The PM doctor would like to do epidural injections, but stated I will likely need to be referred to a surgeon, but because I am 42, she would prefer to wait on surgery.
MRI results as follows:
Findings:
There is no significant cerebellar tonsillar ectopia.
The atlantodental distance is within normal limits.
There is mild reversal of the normal cervical curvature.
Mild 2 mm of retrolesthesis is identified at C5-C7 and 1-2 mm retrolethesis at C5-C6.
The cervical chord demonstrates normal signal intesity and caliber.
There is mild chronic height loss of the C5 vertebral body likely due to chronic degeneratie changes. There is no acute compression fracture deformity of the cervical vetebral bodies.
Disc desication is identified throughout the cervical spine. There is mild anterior osteophyte formation from C4 through C6.
There is no devinite cervical cord signal abnormality.
On the axiel images,
At C2-3, there is no spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis
At C3-4. there is a ver smaill 12mm focal central disc protrusion mildly indenting the anterior thecal sac.
At C4-5, theree is a small diffuse disc osteophyte complex with an asymmetric 2mm left foraminal component and mild bilateral uncovertebral joint hypertrophy, left greater that right.
There is minimal left sided neural formainal stenosis.
At C5-C6 there is mild bilateral uncovetebral joint hypertrophy and a smaill 1-2mm diffuse disc osteophyte complex, with these findings resulting in minimal left sided neural foraminal stenosis or spinal canal stenosis.
At C6-C7 there is a smaill 3-4mm broad based left foraminal disc osteophyte complex and moderalte left uncovertebral joint hypertrophy with these findings resulting in severe left sided neuralo formainal stenosis, abutting the exiting left C7 never root. There is mild right sided uncovertebral jointy hypertorphy wiht minimal right sided neural formainal stenosis.
At C7-T1 there is no spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis.
There is trace mucosal thickening in the paranasal sinuses.
Small lymph nodes are identified and scattered in the neck, nonspecific but most commonly reactive in etiology.
IMPRESSION:
Mild reveral of the the cervical curvature and multilevel degenerative changes in the cervical spine as described above.
At C6-C7 there is a small 3-4 mm broad based left formainal disc osteophyte complex and moderate left uncovertebral joiny hypertrophy with these finding resulting in severe left sided neural foraminal stenosis, abutting the exiting left C7 nerve root. There is mild right-sided uncovertebral joint hypertrophy with minimal right sided neural formainal stenosis. There is no spinal canal stenosis.
Phew….I know this was an extremely long post and I appreciate any time you are able to give to respond. I am wondering if the lymph nodes scattered in the neck are normal or something I should be worried about? I have read a lot of post and have not come seen than mentioned on other people’s MRI’s.