MRI of the Lumbar Spine

Please help me know what this report means:

MRI of the Lumbar Spine
Findings: There is normal lumbar vertebral alignment. There is diffuse intervertebral disc desiccation.

There is mild diffuse disc bulge at L4-5 with bilateral facet joint hypertrophy resulting in mild central canal stenosis. Otherwise, no significant disc bulge is identified in the lumbar spine. There is no significant neural foraminal narrowing identified. There are foci of marrow fat seen within the vertebral bodies. There is a small central disc protrusion at L1-2 without significant central canal stenosis or neural foraminal narrowing.

Impression: Small central disc protrusion at L 1-2.

Mild diffuse bulge with bilateral facet and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy at L4-5 resulting in mild central canal stenosis. No significant neural foraminal narrowing.

[Blue Juliet]

It looks as if the bulge at L4-5, combined with the facet joint hypertrophy, is impinging on the central canal, which can cause the back and leg pain you're experiencing, even though there's no "significant" foraminal narrowing.

It might be a good idea to get a CT myelogram to get a better look at the stenosis and find out if the spinal nerves are being affected. Sometimes that's hard to tell with an MRI alone.