[Dforeman22]

#21856

I’m a 24yr old female, somewhat active on a daily basis. I’ve had horrible back pain for at least 6 years and the neck pain has come on the past year or so. I’ve done physical therapy, trigger injections, etc. Below are the MRI results I’ve received.

EXAM: MR SPINE CERVICAL WO CONT
 
CLINICIAN’S HISTORY: M54.2 Cervicalgia, Worsening neck pain, shooting into shoulder, No deficits on examination, but not improving with PT, actually worsening  
 
HISTORY REPORTED TO TECHNOLOGIST:  migranes x5-6wks, numbness and tingling bilateral hands x1yr, NKI
 
COMPARISON: No previous cervical MRI.
 
TECHNIQUE: Multisequence multiplanar imaging of the cervical spine was performed on a 1.5 Tesla MRI unit without contrast.
 
FINDINGS: The craniocervical relationship is maintained. No cerebellar tonsillar ectopia. No cervical cord signal abnormalities. Vertebral heights and AP alignment are maintained. Straightening of the cervical lordosis.
 
At C2-C3, no canal stenosis or foraminal narrowing.
 
At C3-C4, a broad-based disc osteophyte complex is present. Minimal thecal sac deformity. No notable canal stenosis. No focal disc protrusion.
 
At C4-C5, a disc osteophyte complex present. Minimal thecal sac deformity. No dominant protrusion. Minimal right foraminal narrowing. No left foraminal narrowing.
 
At C5-C6, a broad-based disc osteophyte complex is present with minimal thecal sac deformity and mild bilateral foraminal narrowing, right greater than left. Tiny right posterolateral protrusion.
 
At C6-C7, a broad-based disc osteophyte complex is present. No canal stenosis. Tiny right posterolateral protrusion and spur with mild right foraminal narrowing. No left foraminal narrowing.
 
At T1-T2, no disc protrusion, canal stenosis, or foraminal narrowing is noted.
 
At T4-T5, there is a tiny central disc protrusion with minimal ventral thecal sac deformity.
 
At T5-T6, there is a broad-based disc osteophyte complex with mild ventral thecal sac deformity. No foraminal compromise.
 
Impression:
  
1. Minimal discogenic changes of the cervical and upper thoracic spine as above. The disc osteophyte complex at T5-T6 results in mild canal stenosis and closely approximates the ventral cord. Additional dedicated thoracic spine imaging may be considered  
if there is further concern.
2. No evident signal changes within the base of the brain or cervical spinal cord.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#21907

You have multilevel cervical degenerative disc disease. The discs are losing their shock absorption activities and impact is causing pain. This is difficult to treat. Activity restriction (no impact activities such as running, tennis or basketball) is important. You can modify some activities such as biking by elevating the handlebars and swimming by using a snorkel (you don’t have to turn your head to breathe) to exercise without neck strain.

Medications such as NSAIDs can be helpful. Even membrane stabilizers can help (see https://neckandback.com/treatments/medication-for-spine-pain/).

PT and Chiropractic treatment can be helpful.

It is hard with only the MRI report to know if surgery can be helpful.

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.

[Dforeman22]

#21932

Hello Dr. Corenman,

My Dr. ordered a full thoracic MRI and these were the results, can you help explain those as well please?
EXAM: MR SPINE THORACIC WO CONT
 
CLINICIAN’S HISTORY: M54.12 Radiculopathy, cervical, T5 radicular pain  
 
HISTORY REPORTED TO TECHNOLOGIST:  migraines x 6 weeks, numbness and tingling in bilat hands x 1 year
 
COMPARISON: None.
 
Technique: Standard protocol noncontrast thoracic spine MRI was performed.     
 
Findings: Alignment is anatomic.  Body heights are maintained. No concerning marrow abnormality is identified.    The cord signal and caliber is normal.  
 
Focal posterior disc protrusion is present at T4-T5 indenting the anterior cord. Additionally is a focal posterior disc protrusion at T7-T8 also indenting the anterior cord. Mild scattered disc bulges are present. No canal or foraminal stenosis is  
identified.
 
Impression:
 
1. Focal posterior disc protrusions at T4-T5 and T7-T8 which indent the anterior cord. No cord signal abnormality is present.  

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#21936

Without knowing your symptoms, I cannot determine what, if any symptoms are being caused by your thoracic disc herniation. Please elucidate your symptoms.

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.

[scjibberja]

#22022

REGION TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar multi-sequence images were obtained through the cervical spine without the use of IV contrast. Standardsequences were obtained. COMPARISON: Plain film of the cervical spine from 03/14/2016 FINDINGS: There is no evidence for compression deformity or subluxation. There are no areas of bone marrow edema. Craniocervical junction is unremarkable. The paraspinal musculature is unremarkable. No areas of abnormal cord signal identified. Flow voids are noted within the vertebral arteries. Multilevel disc desiccation and disc space height loss is noted. This space height loss is most pronounced at C4-C5. There is straightening with mild reversal of the normal cervical lordosis centered at the C4-C5 level. Mild multilevel endplate spurring is noted. There is no prevertebral edema identified.c There is a hemangioma within vertebral body T2. C2/C3: Mild bilateral uncovertebral joint spurring as well as moderate left and mild right facet hypertrophy results in mild to moderate left and mild right neural foraminal stenosis without spinal canal stenosis. C3/C4: Mild bilateral facet hypertrophy and uncovertebral joint spurring resulting in mild left-sided neural foraminal stenosis. There is no spinal canal stenosis. C4/C5: There is disc – osteophyte complex formation with a mild broad-based posterior disc bulge. Mild to moderate bilateral facet hypertrophy is noted. Uncovertebral joint spurring is more pronounced on the left. This results in severe left and moderate to severe right neural foraminal stenosis and mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis with contact of the ventral surface of the cord with mild cord flattening. There is mild increased T2 cord signal intensity within the ventral aspect of the cord best appreciated on sagittal image 7 of series 2. This may represent chronic changes of myelomalacia or compressive myelopathy given the focal cord contact at this level. C5/C6: Moderate right uncovertebral joint spurring and mild bilateral facet hypertrophy result inc moderate to severe right neural foraminal stenosis. There is no spinal canal stenosis at this level. C6/C7: There is a mild broad-based posterior disc bulge resulting in mild bilateral neural foraminal stenosis without spinal canal stenosis. C7/T1: No significant disc bulge, neuroforaminal stenosis, or spinal canal stenosis identified. IMPRESSION: Moderate multilevel discogenic and degenerative changes most pronounced at C4-C5 with mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis, ventral cord contact with mild cord flattening, suspected mild chronic cord changes/myelomalacia, and high-grade neural foraminal stenosis.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#22047

I assume that you are another participant in the forum and not related to the initial individual. The MRI is helpful but will not by itself tell me what your disorder is. You need to describe your symptoms so the MRI will make some sense. See the section https://neckandback.com/conditions/how-to-describe-your-history-and-symptoms-of-neck-shoulder-and-arm-pain/ to help understand how to describe your symptoms.

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.

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