need mri results help - Spinal Cord Disorders Message Board

aliway572 · 09-06-2009, 11:12 AM

cervical spine-mild subluxation of c-5 vertabal body with osteophyte degenerative changes at the posterior superior endplate.disc height narrowing at c-5,c-6 level.thoracic spine-minimal leftward curvation of the spine question relation to positioning.there is preservation of disc space heights.there is calcification in the epigastric region overlying the right renal shadow of uncertain etiology?anyone know what these results mean?

aliway572 · 09-09-2009, 06:32 AM

Hi everyone,I was wondering if anyone has any idea what this report says.I am so confused,why don,t Dr.s sit us down after test and explain?I had this mri last Oct.Now a year later my left arm and hand are numb.I have very little strength left in arms,can,t squeeze toothpaste,turn doorknobs etc...Physical therapist says radiculopathy,they want to start traction this week.Is it possible for traction to cause more loss of function?

jennybyc · 09-11-2009, 07:28 PM

Hi Aliway....sorry no one got around to explaining the results.

Your main problem is in your neck at C5-6 as I'm sure you know. The disk in between the vertebra at C5 and at C6 is drying up and shrinking so the MRI showed the space is getting narrower.It hadn't herniated(ruptured) at that time but a dried up disk is at much greater risk of doing so. So the upper of those 2 vertebrae has slipped slightly out of alignment(subluxation). It didn't say if it slipped forwards or backwards but either way, that slipping is what most likely caused the bone spurs(osteophytes) that are building up on the backside of the bone at the edges. These can rub together and cause a lot of pain or grow further and pinch a nerve.

Your thoracic spine is the area of your back that curves outward. It appears to be slightly curved sideways which would mean scoliosis but that usually starts in childhood so the radiologist is questioning if it was the way you were lying on the MRI table.

The last thing is one of those things that pops up at time. They found an area around your right kidney behind the liver, pancreas, stomach and other digestive tract organs. Probably nothing. Does your primary doc know about it? If he/she were concerned they would have done a CT to see what it was. My thoracic spine MRI showed I had a thickening of the pleura...lining on the outside of the lungs and my doc ordered a CT. It showed the MRI was wrong...pleura was just fine but then the CT found what looked like an aneurysm. So then that has to have another CT....and it was an aneurysm but it is very stable and will probably never need fixing and has been there since birth. It worried me for months! Needlessly.

Did you have the symptoms you mentioned when the MRI was done? If they are new, then you most likely have finally burst that disk that was getting bad between C5 and 6. You need a new MRI when symptoms change. That numbness and weakness is a sign the nerve is under severe distress and it needs to be relieved before it becomes permanent.

So see your doc and let him/her know about the numbness and weakness and insist on another MRI to see what is pressing on the nerves. Your previous MRI didn't show anything touching the nerves or the spinal cord. Time for an update.

I hope this helps.

gentle hugs...........Jenny

aliway572 · 09-12-2009, 06:44 AM

jennybyc,thank you for help.

the mri was done last year october and at that time the problems were pain and fatigue,mostly in arms,shoulders.neck,and back.my primary care dr. referred me to neurology for nerve conduction and then this past june to neurosurgeon. i was told by neuro dr. that i had degeneration in two levels c-5 c-6,c-6 c-7 and they said it was,nt pressing on the spinal cord,and referred me to pain management for injections.

i am still waiting for that appointment? then in august my left hand and arm went numb so i went to the er,was seen by three dr,s,given a e-stim treatment,pain meds and physical therapy appointment.pt told me i have stenosing radiculopathy and I am to go for traction 2 days a week for four weeks.when they tested my arm strength,right side was 45,left 15,both should be between 60-and 80.

numbness is still there and it is a real struggle to do things,i am left handed .my legs also feel weak and numb at times,pain constant.i am afraid of traction,they have not requested another mri or x-ray yet and i don,t see my primary dr. until middle of october.

again thanks for answering.

feelbad · 09-13-2009, 10:35 AM

hi ali. i figured i would answer here instead of the disability board? just considering the VERY pronounced types of real symptoms you are now displaying, i totally agree with jenny up there, you just DO seriously need a good comparritive follow up MRI done to really see what is going on in there. the findings in that first MRI, quite honestly just do NOT truely match with the overall level of symptoms you are having right now. i do think something has either significantly changed up there which from your new leg symptoms, could possibly be one of two things. either your c spine problems are now impacting your actual cord in some way, OR you may have other possible spinal problems much further down the spinal column. you just NEED the new MRI done, preferably with contrast too. it just helps to better highlight certain areas/findings much better than without it. you also need to see what is up with that incidental finding to at least define what that is. i have had some really crazy, but rather significant things just show up myself as incidental findings upon scanning an area for something else too. finding out just what is actually appearing to be 'calcified" is important.

i agree with you on the traction thing? until you actually just KNOW with that follow up MRI being done, ecxactly what the main issues are in here right now, stay the heck away from it. without that updated MRI to go by, there is just no real way to even know for certain what could possibly be made much worse by even goin there at all, ya know what i mean? too risky with an outdated MRI and your actual symptoms right now anyway. i would simply tell whoever is telling you that this is even a good idea right now that until you get an updated MRI, its just going to have to be a no go for now. you just need that MRI then a consult with a good neurosurgeon before anything else "impactful" is done on you or to you. this most definitely IS one of those 'better safe than sorry' types of things. i would just speak with your primary to obtain that MRI. considering as well the lower being currently affected now too, it wouldn't hurt to just have them do a full spinal scan since it really doesn't change anything on their end. the scan just takes a bit longer. but at this point, it really probably should be at least looked at with MRI. you just never truely know what just IS actually going on within any body area til it just gets a better in depth look into it. let us know what you find out hon, good luck, marcia