Can An Online Doctor Help Me Read The MRI Report Findings?

Posted on Mon, 13 Jan 2014

Question: Observations: cervical vertebral body height is well maintained. There is a mild diffuse disk space narrowing in disk desiccation most prominent from c5-c7. No abnormal signal changes within the vertebral body bone marrow. No abnormal signal changes with the cervical cord. There are no abnormalities at the cranial vertebral junction. C2-3 Patent neural foraminal and spinal canal. Mild uncovertebral and facet joint hypertrophy. C3-4 Patent neural foramina spinal canal. Mild uncovertebral and facet joint hypertrophy. C4-5 Patent neural foramina spinal canal. Uncovertebral and facet joint hypertrophy.a small posterior central dis herniation this indents the sac C5-6 2 mm end-plate spurring more prominent towards the left side with underlying neural foraminal disk bulging contributing to moderate left and mild right neural foramina stenosis exacerbated by uncovertebral and facet joint hypertrophy. There is a 2mm left paracentral protrusion with effacement of the left ventral theca sac. Redemonstration of cystic change within the neural foramina bilaterally unchanged from the prior exam. C6-7 2mm end-plate spurring and disk bulge with moderate bilateral neural foramina stenosis exacerbated by uncovertebral and facet joint hypertrophy. There is a mild narrowing of the central canal with in AP dimension of 7-8mm at the midline. The findings are similar to the prior study. C7-T1: There is a mm cyst within the right neural foramina consistent with a perineural or synovial cyst. The neural foramina and spinal canal are otherwise patent. No change from prior study. Parial imaging of the upper thoracic spine demonstrate no abnormalities. Impressions and Recommendations: 1. Posterior disk/osteophyte complexes from C%-C7 contributing to neural foraminal stenosis as described above. 2. There is a 2mm left paracentral profusion at C5-6 with the effacement at the left ventral theca sac which is new when compared with the prior study. 3. Cystic changes within the neural foramina bilaterally at C5-6 and C7-T1 which are stable.

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (8 hours later)

Brief Answer: My reply is below. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for posting your query and providing the MRI reports. I have gone through the findings of your MRI cervical spine, and would like to reassure you that these are not severe abnormalities. The major abnormalities are slipped discs at two levels, C5-6 and C6-7 levels, with compression of the nerves at those two levels. Other abnormalities are minor and there is no need to worry. The symptoms could be neck pain, pain in the arms, tingling or numbness in the arms, and weakness of arms. Initial treatment would be conservative. This includes pregabalin capsules and physiotherapy, with IFT/ultrasound, neck extension exercises, etc. Epidural injections may be needed if pain is severe. In about 10-20% of patients, surgery may be needed if all the above measure fail to reduce pain. I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information. Wishing you good health, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir Kumar (13 hours later)

i do have pain in the arms , weakness in arms and pain in neck for sure i saw a diagram and i actually see it going into the cord abit what about hypertrophy and the tarlvoc cysts what is pregablin capsules and my head feel l ike a bobble head and i have skull pain i can't sleep b because of the pain also if it is compression the nerves isn;t that bad can it cause weakness in the legs

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (28 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Thank you for getting back. Detailed Answer: Hi, I appreciate your follow-up queries. Yes, we need to see the pictures to find out whether the spinal cord is compressed or not. However, as per the report posted by you, there is no pressure on the cord. Hypertrophy and cysts are also partly contributing to pressure on the spinal nerves. Pregabalin capsules are medications that help in nerve-related pain. Proper treatment with pain relief would also help you sleep well. Weakness in legs can occur, if there are similar problems in the lower back (lumbar region area). I hope it helps. Best wishes, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir Kumar (38 minutes later)

thankyou i also had surgery on my shoulder- which did not work that is why some pain in from the shoulder other from neck i had labral posterio in ferior labral tear etc,, rim rent tear bursitis ec, and i did not heal- it came back- is there something systemic that would make me not heal at the beginning it said it is the neck the shoulder - and now i have both i have alot of fluid in my and laxity of the ligaments any way of healing this-

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (7 minutes later)

Brief Answer: My reply is below. Detailed Answer: Thank you for getting back. It is unfortunate that your shoulder surgery did not work and healing was incomplete. I do not think it is due to any systemic problem. Conditions that could lead to delayed or incomplete healing could be diabetes, use of steroids (medicines), cancer, etc, which I do not think apply to your case. As of now, the best method to hasten healing is through physiotherapy of shoulder and neck. Best wishes, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir Kumar (2 hours later)

do tarlov cyst in the spine cause pain should it be removed i have a right c8 cyst and the c6/7 disc bulge doctor- can the disc cause coughing problems what other symptoms dizziness headaches/ weakness in arms and fingers bobble head pain,in sinus areas jaw pain/ clavicle bone pain sometimes swallowing and breathing feels like there is fluid

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (6 hours later)

Brief Answer: My reply is below. Detailed Answer: Thank you for getting back. Small Tarlov cyst does not cause any significant symptoms. If they are large, then that can also press on the nerves. Disc does not cause coughing problems. Neck pain, pain in arms, tingling, numbness and weakness of arms- these are the symptoms that can occur with disc in the cervical region. Best wishes, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir Kumar (1 hour later)

because i think i hAve ostpehytes hitting neAr my thorAt when i swallow i have A hard time swallowing And i stArt -i saw a report i mAy hAve dyspnea due to ostephytes hitting on the wall of my esophagus can that e possible the cyst 6mm in size and -5 mm in the right

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (3 hours later)

Brief Answer: My reply is below. Detailed Answer: Thank you for getting back. Osteophytes pressing on the oesophagus (food pipe) may cause difficulty in swallowing, however, would not cause breathing difficulty (dyspnea). 5-6 mm size cysts are harmless and there is no need to worry about them. Best wishes, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar