Below are results from an MRI of the neck. All the doctor's office said was to make an appointment with a doctor that does non-invasive treatment/rehab. Any idea what this means or how bad or not bad at all? Thanks.
MR IMAGING OF THE CERVICAL SPINE
Clinical Problem: Cervicalgia.
Procedure: Sagittal T1 proton density and T2 axial gradient echo and
T1 imaging obtained of the cervical spine at 1.5T.
Findings:
There is cervical degenerative disc disease. At C2/C3, there is
central disc protrusion without cord deformity or stenosis. At C3/C4,
there is disc protrusion centrally with end-plate and uncovertebral
degenerative change and moderate to severe central stenosis. There is
bilateral foraminal narrowing identified as well. At C4/C5, there is
minimal central disc protrusion and degenerative facet change with mild
narrowing of the central canal. At C5/C6, there is disc protrusion
towards the left as well as end-plate and uncovertebral degenerative
change and mild to moderate stenosis and left greater than right
foraminal stenosis. At C6/C7, there is disc protrusion centrally and
towards the left with end-plate and uncovertebral degenerative change
and left greater than right foraminal stenosis and moderate central
stenosis. At 71, no frank disc herniation or stenosis is seen. There
is no evidence of signal abnormality involving the cervical spinal
cord.
CONCLUSION:
Cervical spondylitic changes as described above. Most prominent
changes are noted in the mid cervical spine involving C3/C4 but also
involving C6/C7, C5/C6 and C4/C5 levels.[/SIZE]
Of course I'm no doc & cant diagnose you, but I had a couple similiar things in my lumbar spine, which I was told was degenerative disc disease and osteo-arthritis. They said because of the arthritis and disc disease, my discs are wearing away and bulging and tearing. And I also have thickening of all the bones around my lower spinal canal which is causing severe stenosis. The stenosis means narrowing.
Do you happen to have sharp pains in your neck or down your arms? If so, it's probably due to all those bulging discs. I wouldnt know if it's that bad or not or if it will progress to worse. But I wouldnt wait around to find out if I were you.
Make sure you ask your doc exactly what it all means and if it is progressive or will worsen over time. [Removed]
Last edited by HBMod07; 07-11-2006 at 10:08 AM.
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I don't currently have sharp pain in my neck, but I do have pain. It is almost constant, although not severe at the moment. When I went to the ER, it hurt very much, but was almost like a pulled muscle. I have frequent numbness in my right shoulder & shoulder blade.
I also have disk degeneration in my low back. Although my upper back seems to give me more problems. Does the narrowing (stenosis) cause pain? Do you know the direct result of the stenosis?
The short answer is yes. If the narrowing occurs in the passages where the nerves come out of the spinal cord and go to the body. Essentially they pinch the nerves.
Your neck and shoulder pain is very likely caused by this.
I'm not sure what you mean by "direct result", but I think I answered the question.
If the pain is not too bad, you may be able to improve things with non-invasive therapy.
Did you go to the emergency room because you thought it was a heart attack? This happened to me. I went by ambulance.
Dennis
Last edited by HBMod07; 07-13-2006 at 11:32 AM.
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Thanks for the reply. I went to the ER because the pain was worse at teh time & I the numbness in the shoulder started. (I knew it must not be good when the doctor pulled up my x-ray & said "whoa". He tol;d me my neck was a mess, I should follow up with my primary; he'll probably want to do an MRI.
