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Can You Provide Explanation Of My Cervical Spine MRI ?
Question: For the last 5 years, I get a back muscle spasm is the same spot, once every 2 to 3 months, when I move a certain way. In the beginning, whenever I laughed, it caused the muscle contractions. Over the years, I use 2 25lb dumbells to do trapezoid shoulder shrugs and sholder presses to try to straighten my posture and back. If I put pressure on the muscle, it hurts. The muscle is located on the inside of the left sholder blade.
I had a MRI of the left scapula which is - NORMAL MRI OF THE SCAPULA.
Can you please provide explanation of my Cervical Spine MRI - multiplanar multisequence MRI of the cervical spine without use of IV Gadolinium.
finding - Sagittal imaging demonstrates straightening of the normal lordosis. The spinal cord is normal in signal characteristics and configuration throughout.
At c2-3 - there is no evidence of disc herniation, disc, buldge, spinal or foraminal stenosis.
at c3-4 - a diffuse disc buldge and left greater than right uncinate spurs are present along with central HNP. Facet degenerative changes are present. There is resultant mild spinal stenosis and moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis.
at c4-5 - disc buldge and uncinate spurs are present along with small central HMP. there is resultant moderate right and mild left foramininal stenosis and moderate spinal stensosis without cord compression.
At c5-6 - posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with diffuse disc buldge and facet degenerative changes. There is resultant moderate to severe spinal stenosis and moderate to severe left and moderate right foraminal stenosis.
At c6-7 - Posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with central and left paracentral HNP. There is resultant moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis and moderate spinal stenosis.
There is no evidence of cord compression.
IMPRESSION - Degenerative changes of the cervical spine s described above.
I had a MRI of the left scapula which is - NORMAL MRI OF THE SCAPULA.
Can you please provide explanation of my Cervical Spine MRI - multiplanar multisequence MRI of the cervical spine without use of IV Gadolinium.
finding - Sagittal imaging demonstrates straightening of the normal lordosis. The spinal cord is normal in signal characteristics and configuration throughout.
At c2-3 - there is no evidence of disc herniation, disc, buldge, spinal or foraminal stenosis.
at c3-4 - a diffuse disc buldge and left greater than right uncinate spurs are present along with central HNP. Facet degenerative changes are present. There is resultant mild spinal stenosis and moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis.
at c4-5 - disc buldge and uncinate spurs are present along with small central HMP. there is resultant moderate right and mild left foramininal stenosis and moderate spinal stensosis without cord compression.
At c5-6 - posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with diffuse disc buldge and facet degenerative changes. There is resultant moderate to severe spinal stenosis and moderate to severe left and moderate right foraminal stenosis.
At c6-7 - Posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with central and left paracentral HNP. There is resultant moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis and moderate spinal stenosis.
There is no evidence of cord compression.
IMPRESSION - Degenerative changes of the cervical spine s described above.
For the last 5 years, I get a back muscle spasm is the same spot, once every 2 to 3 months, when I move a certain way. In the beginning, whenever I laughed, it caused the muscle contractions. Over the years, I use 2 25lb dumbells to do trapezoid shoulder shrugs and sholder presses to try to straighten my posture and back. If I put pressure on the muscle, it hurts. The muscle is located on the inside of the left sholder blade.
I had a MRI of the left scapula which is - NORMAL MRI OF THE SCAPULA.
Can you please provide explanation of my Cervical Spine MRI - multiplanar multisequence MRI of the cervical spine without use of IV Gadolinium.
finding - Sagittal imaging demonstrates straightening of the normal lordosis. The spinal cord is normal in signal characteristics and configuration throughout.
At c2-3 - there is no evidence of disc herniation, disc, buldge, spinal or foraminal stenosis.
at c3-4 - a diffuse disc buldge and left greater than right uncinate spurs are present along with central HNP. Facet degenerative changes are present. There is resultant mild spinal stenosis and moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis.
at c4-5 - disc buldge and uncinate spurs are present along with small central HMP. there is resultant moderate right and mild left foramininal stenosis and moderate spinal stensosis without cord compression.
At c5-6 - posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with diffuse disc buldge and facet degenerative changes. There is resultant moderate to severe spinal stenosis and moderate to severe left and moderate right foraminal stenosis.
At c6-7 - Posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with central and left paracentral HNP. There is resultant moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis and moderate spinal stenosis.
There is no evidence of cord compression.
IMPRESSION - Degenerative changes of the cervical spine s described above.
I had a MRI of the left scapula which is - NORMAL MRI OF THE SCAPULA.
Can you please provide explanation of my Cervical Spine MRI - multiplanar multisequence MRI of the cervical spine without use of IV Gadolinium.
finding - Sagittal imaging demonstrates straightening of the normal lordosis. The spinal cord is normal in signal characteristics and configuration throughout.
At c2-3 - there is no evidence of disc herniation, disc, buldge, spinal or foraminal stenosis.
at c3-4 - a diffuse disc buldge and left greater than right uncinate spurs are present along with central HNP. Facet degenerative changes are present. There is resultant mild spinal stenosis and moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis.
at c4-5 - disc buldge and uncinate spurs are present along with small central HMP. there is resultant moderate right and mild left foramininal stenosis and moderate spinal stensosis without cord compression.
At c5-6 - posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with diffuse disc buldge and facet degenerative changes. There is resultant moderate to severe spinal stenosis and moderate to severe left and moderate right foraminal stenosis.
At c6-7 - Posterior ridging and bilateral uncinate spurs are present along with central and left paracentral HNP. There is resultant moderate left greater than right foraminal stenosis and moderate spinal stenosis.
There is no evidence of cord compression.
IMPRESSION - Degenerative changes of the cervical spine s described above.
Hello XXXXXXX
Thanks for your query.
You have not specified your age.
"The changes in your MRI are suggestive of age related spine disease, if you are in 40-50s".
There's no serious issue to worry about your cervical spine as there's no cord or nerve root compression to cause you the symptoms you have stated.
Your problem needs a thorough clinical evaluation by an Orthopedician. Its difficult for me to assess you based on the symptoms as its a purely anatomical problem.
Meanwhile, you need to reconsider certain issues where you could reduce the frequency of your symptoms.
- Do you have a good warm up session before work outs? If not you need to change the way you exercise.
- I hope, you are being trained by a certified trainer. If not, kindly seek help from a Physiotherapist. Even amateur work out modes could lead to pain or muscle spasm. Please check and improvise on that.
Recurrent subluxation (instability) of the shoulder can also cause muscle spasm and a giving away feel. It can be confirmed by clinical assessment and a dynamic MRI of your shoulder.
Other thing that comes to my mind is a 'Supraspinous nerve compression'. This is the nerve which supplies one of your shoulder blade muscles which lies on the upper end of the blade. However the condition isn't so common and is not so easy to diagnose. "I would suggest you to opt for an EMG (nerve study) if no clinical diagnosis can be made".
I hope your question has been answered. If you have any other queries, I am happy to follow you up.
Regards
Thanks for your query.
You have not specified your age.
"The changes in your MRI are suggestive of age related spine disease, if you are in 40-50s".
There's no serious issue to worry about your cervical spine as there's no cord or nerve root compression to cause you the symptoms you have stated.
Your problem needs a thorough clinical evaluation by an Orthopedician. Its difficult for me to assess you based on the symptoms as its a purely anatomical problem.
Meanwhile, you need to reconsider certain issues where you could reduce the frequency of your symptoms.
- Do you have a good warm up session before work outs? If not you need to change the way you exercise.
- I hope, you are being trained by a certified trainer. If not, kindly seek help from a Physiotherapist. Even amateur work out modes could lead to pain or muscle spasm. Please check and improvise on that.
Recurrent subluxation (instability) of the shoulder can also cause muscle spasm and a giving away feel. It can be confirmed by clinical assessment and a dynamic MRI of your shoulder.
Other thing that comes to my mind is a 'Supraspinous nerve compression'. This is the nerve which supplies one of your shoulder blade muscles which lies on the upper end of the blade. However the condition isn't so common and is not so easy to diagnose. "I would suggest you to opt for an EMG (nerve study) if no clinical diagnosis can be made".
I hope your question has been answered. If you have any other queries, I am happy to follow you up.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Please explain the MRI in detail. What does it mean?
Hello XXXXXXX
Thanks again,
As stated before you MRI suggests degenerative disease of the cervical spine.
To put those terms in simple words:
1. There's no stenosis.
Foramen is the canal through which the nerve root from your spinal cord exits. These nerve roots are the ones which supply your arms. If there's severe compression in the canal, you'll experience pain, numbness or weakness or all the three symptoms.
3. There's moderate to severe stenosis of your spinal cord at c5-6 level which could also lead to these symptoms.
This could be responsible for your symptoms.
4. There are minor disc bulging at various levels not significant to be concerned of.
Hope I have solved your query. For further queries, I'll be glad to follow up.
Wishing you good health.
Regards
Thanks again,
As stated before you MRI suggests degenerative disease of the cervical spine.
To put those terms in simple words:
1. There's no stenosis.
Foramen is the canal through which the nerve root from your spinal cord exits. These nerve roots are the ones which supply your arms. If there's severe compression in the canal, you'll experience pain, numbness or weakness or all the three symptoms.
3. There's moderate to severe stenosis of your spinal cord at c5-6 level which could also lead to these symptoms.
This could be responsible for your symptoms.
4. There are minor disc bulging at various levels not significant to be concerned of.
Hope I have solved your query. For further queries, I'll be glad to follow up.
Wishing you good health.
Regards
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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