MRI results alot of pain Help what does this mean???

[bluebird05]

Hi I am new to this board and have been experiencing alot of pain since falling 3 months ago at work and the pain is just getting worse I do not see my Dr. for another 3 wks which is the company Dr. which I am very unsure of and am wondering what I am looking at when I go.
Here is my MRI:

Findings Alignment of the vertebral bodies is normal. Moderate disk space narrowing is noted at -C4-5 and C5-6. The remainder of the intervertrebal disk as well as the vertebra bodies maintain normal height. The spinal cord maintains normal caliber, contour and signal. Marrow of the visualized bony structures is normal.

At C4-5 there is disk bulge without canal or neural foraminal stenosis

At C5-6 disk bulge seen flattening the ventral aspect of the spinal canal producing no central canal or neural foraminal stenosis.

At C6-7 disk bulge is seen with left lateral disk protusion osteophyte complex. It indents on the ventral aspect of the spinal canal on the left. It mildly effaces the left ventral spinal cord. It produces mild central canal stenosis and moderate to severe left neral foraminal stenosis. This would be affecting the C7 nerve root. Correlate with the distribution of patient symptoms.
The visualized paravertebral soft tissues are grossly within the normal range.

Impression: At C6-7 broad based disk bulge ostephyte complex is seen. There is a superimposed left paracentral and lateral as well as probably partially foraminal disk prtrusion osteophyte complex that indents on the left ventral aspect of the spinal canal. At most it produces mild central vanal stenosis and moderate left neural foraminal stenosis. Correlates with distribution of pt. symptoms.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bluebird05]

Sorry I forgot to add that I have had alot of crunching and some popping sensations which seem to be getting worse, with severe neck pain and left sided shoulder pain often going across the whole back of the shoulder, often I get shooting electrical pain down my left arm going to my finger tips with upper arm pain and weakness. on occasion I will get the same thing on the right arm. I get severe headaches that seem to come from the back of my neck, the ringing in the ears is driving me nuts and seems to be getting worse, I have noticed also within the last couple of days my upper legs feel weak and heavy. Are there conservative tx options that I can look at. My husband had sx. and I really don't want to go through what he did. Thanks

 

[tetonteri66]

Welcome to the board. I am relatively new too and I have discovered that many people with cervical spine issues gather on the "Spinal cord disorders" area of the board. If you haven't discovered it yet, you will find many people dealing with neck and shoulder issues similar to yours.

Very briefly, it looks like you have some bulging discs that are either irritating or compressing some spinal nerves. This results in the pain you are feeling and probably the headaches. The popping noise is probably coming from the osteophytes that are mentioned. Osteophytes are an overgrowth of bone or cartilage that grow around a degenerating joint, and are a sign of arthritis. The way I think of osteophytes is that they are nature's way of trying to stabilize or protect a joint. The impression concludes by stating that the findings of the MRI support and help to explain the symptoms you are having.

Since the findings do not indicate severe stenosis, I would think your doctor will treat you conservatively...probably recommending a course of physical therapy, possibly including some epidural steroid injections.

Please post your question over on the "spinal cord disorders" section of the board, too. My hunch is you will get more responses over there!