MRI RESULTS CAN YOU EXPLAIN IT TO US

[denpet]

hi there my partner has been for an mri because of loss of strength/feeling in his left hand side of his body here is his diagnosis can you explain it please MRI Spine Lumbar/Sacarl :
Straightening of the lumbar spine with multilevel degenerative disease . Minor retrolisthesis of L5 on S1 At L1 / 2 there is a minor posterior disc bulge indenting thecal sac only.Fatty endplate change of L1 superiorly. At L2 / 3 there is a posterior disc bulge with more focal right sided protrusion withsome inferior migration of disc material. This has been incompletely assessed with no axial images available for review.This is probably causing some degree of lateral recess narrowing. At L3/ 4 the disc is dehydrated and has lost hight with a posterior disc bulge, this along with some ligamentum flavum hypertrophy is narrowing the lateral recesses, more so on the right where the L4 nerve root  is in contact with the disc.
At L4 / 5 there is almost complete loss of disc height with degenerative fatty endplate changes. both of the lateral recesses are compressed, more so on the left,this is due to both the posterior disc bulge and the posterior osteophyte formation from the L4 endplate. both L5 nerveroots are contacted,with more severe change on the left .fluid in the right facet joint at this level.At L5 / S1 the disc is dehydrated and has loss height with a posterior disc bulge and left sided annular tear. there is no neural compression in the lateral recesse,but both of the exit foramian at this level are mildly narrowed due to the osteophyte formation, and retrolisthesis as well as a contribution form the disc. fat is still seen around the nerve roots however
haemangioma of T12,L1,L3, and L4
No marrow replacement.
Tarlov cyst of S2
No AAA or retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy
conclusion:
symptoms may be explained by the finding at L4 / 5 with compression of the L5 nerve root. multileavel degenerative change.
A neurosurgical opinion may be helpful

[denpet]

thank you will study them  and learn to understand the problems he is having  and yes his heart problems are a different problem all together  we understand that i was just giving you his history thank you so much again

[philnoir]

If that was a question, the answer is: yes. Although the cardiovascular problems are probably not due to his spine disease.

That's another thing -- it's not his back. I'm suggesting that he might have spine disease, which is very different than a sore back.

Also, people with lumbar degenerative disc disease often have accompanying cervical disc disease.

Go read those sites and you'll learn to talk like this. Using the right medical terms goes a long way with medical people.

Best wishes.

[denpet]

so has he all  of them wrong with his back and are they the cause of his weakness/pain/walking/sitting/laying problems along with these he has cardio vascular desease/angina/ breathing/which along with the back/neck problems are virtually rendering him disabled

[denpet]

hi there been with my partner 38 years worked for the last 40  i asked because he is a typical man  who  says its only a back ache lol ,explained it is much more than that ,problem were having is getting any help in his care as he now cannot undress/bath we have put in for disablement benefit refused twice i,m trying to understand the severity of his problems as he is ITS JUST BACKACHE  he had  never been to docs for 20 years before weakness in the left side of his body arm/leg made me pester him to go to our gp thank you so much for  the info i will read through  all info before we see the neurosurgeon  on 15/oct/15 he is now having trouble with his neck hense our gp fast tracking him for a cerebal mri which we are awaiting the results thank you again much appreciated  

[philnoir]

Hello denpet, and welcome to the spine forum.

Your friend has multiple problems in the lower back. There is a lot of lumbar disc degeneration and your friend has multiple disc bulges that cause multiple problems.

There is a lot going on, and it would do me a disservice to talk about your friend's MRI w/o putting it in the context of his physical findings, medical history, and treatment options.

So, I'm going to refer you to a spine site that has more information on degenerative disc disease, disc bulges and herniations, spondylosis, and foraminal stenosis.

Get all the information you can on conditions and treatments from this site.

http://www.spineuniverse.com

Look under the first menu titled Conditions.

First, you need to understand the anatomy of the lumbar spine.

http://www.spineuniverse.com/anatomy/lumbar-spine

See the followin pages that describe these conditions, treatments, and outcomes.

http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/spondylosis

http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/degenerative-disc/degenerative-disc-disease-low-back-pain

http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/herniated-disc/herniated-disc-slideshow

http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/spinal-stenosis/spinal-stenosis-animation

http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/degenerative-disc/surgery-degenerative-disc-disease

http://www.spineuniverse.com/treatments/surgery/lumbar-surgery-animation

http://www.spineuniverse.com/treatments/surgery/minimally-invasive/advantages-minimally-invasive-spine-surgery

http://www.spineuniverse.com/treatments/surgery/minimally-invasive/stabilization-spine-surgery


Finally:

http://www.spineuniverse.com/treatments/surgery/spine-surgery-questions-ask-your-doctor


Follow the links on all of these pages, and you'll end up knowing all about these common diseases of the lumbar spine.

best wishes to you both.

[denpet]

our gp has now fast traxked my partner for a mri to his neck which he had done last night he has also made us an appoointment to see a nuerosurgeon can anyone help with his back mri i posted earlier so we can go into the meeting in 3 weeks with some sort of understanding thanks in advance