MRI shows 3 Cervical discs touching spinal cord

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 19 total)

1 2 3 4 Next

Author

Posts
grahammolyneux
Member

November 29, 2013 at 12:36 am

Post count: 13

#9859

New to this forum
I had a fall in August 2013 and after 1 month of being in and out of A&E I then had an MRI which showed discs between C3 and C6 have prolapsed and are now touching my spinal cord as well as Narrowing of the nerve roots at C4/C5 causing compression on that nerve, and at C5/C6 which is not yet causing compression.
I am at home unable to function due to this injury.

This disturbs me that I have not immediately been transferred to a specialist in spinal injuries please offer your thoughts

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

November 29, 2013 at 8:03 pm

Post count: 8660

#9862

You do not discuss your symptoms which really is the link between your MRI and what is causing your pain. See the section “How to describe symptoms” under conditions to fully convey your impairment.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

grahammolyneux
Member

November 29, 2013 at 9:28 pm

Post count: 13

#9863

Originally I had a Pain at the top half of my neck a pain/pressure the size of my fist at the top of my spine.
over night my neck started to tighten up and the pain radiated down in to my shoulders.In the morning I attended our A&E and had X-rays which showed no sign of fracture.
over next few days the pains increased in intensity and was now in a diamond shape from the center of my skull out to the tips of my shoulders then down my back to the bottom of my rib cage.
I had an appointment 16 days after my first A&E visit and at this time on turning my neck in any direction I experienced a Stabbing pain which was unbearable.
Due to an earlier Knee injury I am walking on crutches while awaiting an operation on that and and as I walk any distance this causes upper arm pain and pins and needles in my hands the further I walk the worse it gets to a point that I can Not feel the crutches in my hands. When I have walked this kind of distance the pain at the top of my spine turns into a head ache which covers the left side of my head to my left eye. At all times I now have double vision.
the percentage of pain is to the neck 70/30
My concern Is the pressure on the spinal cord at three points !!!

grahammolyneux
Member

November 29, 2013 at 9:32 pm

Post count: 13

#9864

On the 10th of October I received 7 steroid injections at the trigger points and then the following day a further 7 steroid injections in the remaining trigger points.
This has stopped the acute pain on moving my neck and I was told my neck was stable but not told that I had the disc pressure on my spinal cord.

grahammolyneux
Member

December 1, 2013 at 3:20 am

Post count: 13

#9868

This is word for word the MRI report and My symptoms have not changed other than the acute pain being stopped by the steroid injections

MRI Report

There is no evidence of fracture in the cervical spine or upper dorsal spine.
There are degenerative changes with posterior disc protrusions at C ¾, C4/5 and C 5/6.
The prolapsed discs are slightly touching the spinal cord.

At C 4/5. there is narrowing of the right nerve root exit foramen with compression on the right nerve root at this level.
At C 5/6. th prolapsed disc is also encroaching on the nerve root exit foramnia but there is no evidence of compression on the nerve roots.

The cranio cervical junction is normal.

The cord signal is normal.

No intrathecal mass seen.

The upper thoracic verterbral bodies show no evidence of fracture.

In Summary: There is no evidence of fracture in the cervical spine or in the upper dorsal spine but there are degenerative changes and disc protrusions as explained.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

December 1, 2013 at 5:45 am

Post count: 8660

#9871

Touching of the spinal cord without significant compression is generally painless. Compression of the cord is generally also painless but the cause of compression can be painful (degenerative disc disease, herniation or painful facet disorders).

Compression of nerve roots will produce pain that starts in the side of the neck, radiates into the shoulder and may radiate down the arm (depending upon the nerve involved).

Spinal cord compression however can cause myelopathy, a generally painless condition that involves muscle incoordination and loss of fine motor skills. See the section on myelopathy to understand that disorder.

Your MRI reading notes only none to minimal cord compression (“The prolapsed discs are slightly touching the spinal cord.”).

You do have compression of the right C5 nerve (‘At C 4/5. there is narrowing of the right nerve root exit foramen with compression on the right nerve root at this level”). This can cause pain to radiate into the shoulder and weakness of the shoulder (lifting the arm).

The C5-6 level also have a disc hernation but this does not cause compression of any nerve roots. This can cause central neck pain however.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
Author

Posts

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 19 total)

1 2 3 4 Next

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Average rating:

81 reviews

Eric S

Sep 26, 2021

by Eric S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Successful pars repair at 46 years old

Back in November of 2018 (at 46 years old) I came from Vancouver BC to have a pars repair done with Dr. Donald Corenman at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado. I'm finally posting this review nearly three years later in late 2021. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to know the final result before I posted my review. Unfortunately in that time Dr. Corenman has retired. Nevertheless, I want to post this review of Dr. Corenman and his staff at the Steadman Clinic in their excellent treatment of my L5 pars interarticularis.

I fractured my pars at age 42 back in 2014 when rolling on the gym floor, and was denied treatment by the Canadian healthcare system, probably due to my age. First my GP told me there was no surgical option for a pars defect, which was quite incorrect! I tried to live with it, but the symptoms worsened (periodic random spine slippage and weeks of resultant pain after just bending over to tie my shoe, so I eventually learned to mostly squat and hardly bend). When I finally consulted with Canadian spine surgeons, I was told they believed my pars defect had been congenital (since birth). This was absurd, considering I had done extreme martial arts (including jiu jitsu) for years prior, as well as 5 years of reinforcing steel full time in my 20s, probably the hardest job on the back you can find. No pars defect like mine would possibly have allowed this--ergo it was impossible that I had had the defect since birth. I did however have an asymptomatic congenital spina bifida occulta that made me more susceptible to a pars fracture. In 2014 in one instant, I went from having the strongest back people I knew said they'd ever seen, to being unable to safely bend over and tie my shoe without a non-negligible risk of my spine slipping randomly (which would lead to weeks of pain after each occurrence). This was due to the unilateral L5 pars defect, otherwise known as spondylolysis. It was when lying in pain on the floor 4 years later after maybe the 6th spine slippage event post injury, that I had had enough, and resolved to have surgery. If Canada's "universal health care" said no, I would make lemonade from lemons, and find the very best surgeon in the world at pars repairs. That was Dr. Donald Corenman. Dr. Corenman back in 2018 ran a website https://neckandback.com/ that dedicated many pages to the science of every aspect of pars repairs, from eligibility (good discs on MRI), to best surgical techniques (minimal open compared to minimally invasive), best imaging to use (i.e., O-Arm with Stealth imaging vs. older fluoroscopy), the ideal amount of BMP to use and why not use too much or too little, and much more, all to do with pars repairs, pages upon pages of his site just on the pars, with scientific references and his own extensive expert opinion. As a health research statistician, I was very impressed with this. It was in stark contrast to the websites of other spine surgeons which barely gave the pars a word or two, focusing almost exclusively on fusions. I had found the best surgeon in the world for pars repairs, and so after Dr. Corenman personally screened my MRI to ensure my discs were healthy, I booked the surgery.

Being 46 years old at the time of surgery in 2018, with a 4-year-old pars fracture from 2014 combined with a congenital SBO meant my pars fragment was somewhat atrophied, but it was "very solid", said Dr. Corenman in the operative report. Nevertheless, it was challenging with two things to fix, the pars and SBO, and OR time was around 4 hours. Recovery over the following months was guided by a very clear "Spine binder" from the Steadman Clinic with strict rules of "no BLT" (no bending, lifting or twisting), and illustrated physiotherapy guidelines. They even warned patients to avoid fish oil supplements, which could excessively dampen inflammation and hence slow bone healing. They answered many questions I had during months of recovery, with responses coming from the very supportive Lori Fugate (then director of Dr. Corenman's practice), and Ehrich Bean (then physician's assistant at the practice), as well as a couple calls with Dr. Corenman himself after two of the CT scans. Ehrich Bean offered great advice for taking the spine binder conservatively due to the nature of pars repairs vs. fusions. The final post-op CT scan I had was a couple weeks ago at 34 months post-op, and Dr. Corenman had retired, but I got a very positive and informative call from Eric Strauch (current PA at the Steadman Clinic under Dr. Corenman's replacement there, and who had also worked with Dr. Corenman previously). The staff at the Steadman Clinic were extremely supportive all the way through the process. I should mention, the local Canadian spine surgeon did offer me very good post-operative support including antibiotics as needed to deal with a mild surface incision-site infection early on, booking numerous x-rays when I felt something was amiss, as well as booking all four of my post-op CT scans. I am very grateful for that support also.

My final result shows plenty of solid bone across the pars and a healed SBO, with my vertebral body now a solid bone ring instead of being broken at two places as it was pre-op. Does my spine hold up in the real world? You bet! I have recently dug and moved several yards of dirt and sand and gravel by myself (shovel and wheelbarrow!) to fix our water main, pulled roots from the yard, moved several "portable" (these are HUGE) air conditioners up several flights of stairs my myself, and lifted weights. I now run 2 miles (3.2 KM) several times weekly with a hard 100 meter dash in the middle. I bend deeply before each run I go on, with no spine slippage. My spine feels amazing. I can bend over to do exercise, or real word tasks, with no risk of spine slippage.

My sincere thanks to God, Dr. Donald Corenman, Lori Fugate, Ehrich Bean, Eric Strauch, and the Steadman Clinic, as well as the Canadian spine surgeon who offered me excellent post-operative care back in Canada. You have all given me a new lease on life.

Sincerely,
Eric S

Robert S

May 11, 2021

by Robert S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Back Fusion Surgery

I had my entire lumbar spine fused in November of 2018. I had scoliosis , with pinched nerves that were so painful I could hardly walk - and standing for more than a few minutes was impossible. Even sitting was painful.
The fusion surgery produced immediate relief! And the recovery was much easier than I expected.
To this day I can do all the activities I love from hiking, to standing in a stream fly fishing to riding my bike long distances - or just walking down the street with my wife.
Kudos to Dr. Corenman and his staff, (including the two Erics) for taking such good care of me!

Leslie R

Jul 9, 2020

by Leslie R on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

TLIF

I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend Dr. Corenman and the Steadman Clinic.

Submit your review
First Name, Last Initial:
Email:
Review Title:
Rating:	1 2 3 4 5
Review:

Check this box to confirm you are human.
Submit Cancel