Hi.
In early life (till about 20 years age), the
bone marrow within the vertebrae is mainly blood (erythroid) which appears relatively dark on
MRI. As age advances, this erythroid marrow is replaced by fat which appears bright on MRI (T1). However, this replacement is patchy. So, a middle aged person (around 20-40 years) may have a heterogenous or patchy appearance of marrow signal on MRI. Sometimes though, the fat marrow may get replaced by other tissues like
tumor cells (metastases), which appear as focal dark areas on a uniform bright background and may appear patchy. Thus, the mention of 'no focal suspicious abnormality'in your report ruling these out.
As for the rest of the report, these are all degenerative changes (related to age and lifestyle) and since there is no mention of any
nerve root compression, its probably not something to be too worried about. Appropriate exercise,
physiotherapy, weight reduction, use of a lumbar support belt, etc. would help reduce your pain.