Thank you for your information. You describe your MRI well but do not describe your symptoms with enough detail. “Severe back problems” and pain in both legs needs to be further explored. First, do you have any motor weakness in your legs or bowel/bladder changes? Is the pain worse in your lower back or in your legs? What is the ratio? Is it 50/50, 60/40, 70/30 or the reverse (legs more painful than lower back) 30/70 etc. What makes the pain worse? Is the pain worse with walking and standing or increased with sitting, bending or????
The herniation in your lower back according to the report is significant. “Severe lumbar canal stenosis” generally means a very large herniation causing significant compression. Generally, these very large herniations can be associated with motor weakness or cauda equina syndrome (see website). If either of these are present, in my opinion, decompression surgery needs to be performed.
If the pain is significant and you cannot ambulate, again, surgery would be recommended to gain the fastest recovery.
The T11-L1 degeneration/deformity is probably old Scheuermann’s disease and has been present for quite a while. Most likely, this is not causing the current symptoms.
Dr. Corenman
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.