l & t mri report

[n40066]

on the previous mri htere was a grade 1 spondylolisthesis at L5/S1 with verebral offset measuring apprx. 6mm.  this is less prominent on the current examination with vertebral offset measuring 3-4mm.  there is no disc protrusion at this level. there is no resulting canal or foraminal stenosis.

at L4/L5 there is partial dehydration of the disc which has developed since the previous examination.  there is mildly increased signal underlying the anulus which indicates a small anular tear.  however, there is no disc protursion and there is no evidence of canal or foraminal narrowing.

the remainder of the intervertebral discs appear normal.  the remainder of the spinal canal and neural foramina are normal in caliber.  the tip of the conus is at L1.  there is no evidence of tethering.  there is a normal appearance of the spinal nerve roots within the thecal sac.  the parapoinal soft tissues appear normal.
impression:
no evidence of cord tethering.
minimal grade I sopndylolisthesis at L5.S1 which is less prominent than on the previous mri from 2003.
there is evidence of a small anular tear of the disc at L4/L5 but there is no resulting disc protrusion or cdanal or foraminal stenosis.

T spine
the verebral bodies are normal in stature. there are no compression fractures.  the disc spaces are well maintained.  there are no disc protrusions.  there are no significant degenerative changes.  the spinal canal is normal in caliber.  there is a normal appearance of the visualized spinal cord.

the end.

now, folks....as a result of the plane crash i was in, i had compressed fractures at T7,8 & 9 and disc damage at L5/S1..    maybe i'm just STUUUUUPPPIIIIIDDDD!  cuz from everything i have been taught and told, once a vertebre is compressed, it its not phsically capable of decompressing!  am i wrong here?  

[chadry]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that i had an EMG done on my back and it shows chronic L4-5 radiculopathy  . They never gave me one for my neck even though the MRI'S show 4 messed up discs. They actually had the nerve to say  they don't even want to open up that can of worms. This is what I had to deal with with these quacks.
Christina

[chadry]

I have an annular tear at L4-5 and I will tell you it is not nice. I believe it is acting up again and leaking because for quite awhile again I am having very bad back problems. I  know these things can heal themselves but they can tear again very easily and when they do and it leaks it plays havoc on the nerves.
I called my lawyer today and asked to get the info so I can reopen my WC case. I need them to do something for me. That is a joke but i will try anyway. My period of standing is barely nothing.the worse it has ever been. It is weird that you started to talk about the annular tear because I started to think about it a few days ago and wondered if that was what is causing all the problems I have having now.
I had 2 MRI'S for my back and neck a year apart and they say different things also. One says I have herniated discs the other says I have some bulging and some herniated. The last doctor I went to the judge from W.C. sent me to him to get his opinion on everything. I brought my MRI'S to him and he said that my L5-S1 it also changing. I told him they never mentioned that anywhere and he just said most of them don't even know how to read these things and he does not always go by what the reports say but by what he sees and he sees the changes occurring in the next disc.I wonder what it looks liken  now 2 years after the last MRI.
A W.C. doc will dismiss an annular tear like it is absolutely nothing at all. I had to do all the research myself on it because they acted like it was not even in the report. Like it was not causing any of the pain I was having. I could barely get out of bed for days on end because I could not walk. What a bunch of quacks.
I know what everyone is going through with the chiari ignorance from my DD and from having to deal with W.C. doctors. That's even if you what to call them the courtesy of calling the doctors. I am just getting ready to lie down again for about the who knows how many times today with my heated rice pack. I have been in so much pain anymore that I have taken a Valium almost every night and I try so hard not to because I do not want to get addicted to them but if I don't I can not sleep for the pain and the burning feeling I get.
Take care Elizabeth.
Christina

[n40066]

The usual cause of annular tearing is from a combination of degeneration and trauma; although, genetics may have an influence on the development of this syndrome. That is, some people have genes (genes are microscopic regions on human chromosomes that code for [or make] the materials that the annulus is made of) that produce a weak and inferior version of the human annulus fibrosis (i.e., an inferior gene product), which in turn is not strong enough to handle the everyday activity of work, play, and/or trauma--i.e., it tears too easily!

The pain that arises from an annular tear is called discogenic pain in doctorspeak and is easily the most difficult of all the disc syndromes to treat. In fact, unlike disc-herniation-induced sciatica, we have yet to develop an adequate treatment for this condition!

Besides being able to create their own horrible pain syndrome, which may be felt in the body above the involved disc(s)--i.e., in the back or neck and even down the associated extremity(s), annular tears can also give rise to the dreaded disc herniation, which in turn may compress and/or chemically irritate the adjacent sciatic nerve rootlets causing the even more dreaded sciatica or radiculopathy in doctorspeak.