osteo phyte protrusion, disc disease, desiccation,herniations,

there is signal loss @ the l-4-45 disc space indicating early degenerative disk disease and disk desiccation this is most severe @ l5-s1 level

a mid and right paramedian disk herniation at the l5-s1 disk space with stenosis of thr right lateral recess. the ventral surface of the dural sac is compressed. The s-1 joints are patent.

at the l-4-5 disk space, minor annulus bulge is present. there is no frank herniation. the facet joints are minimally prominent. each intervetebral foramen is patent.

on the right at the l-3-4 disk space there is a large lateral herniated nucleus pulposus. this not only compression the ventral surface of the dural sac on right , but also obstructs the existing root and obstructs the foramen. it also extends laterally, possibly compressing the dorsal root ganglion.


please help me understand what all this means, also is this why i cannot sleep lying down, stand for longer than 7 minutes or walk very far?

[star queen]

An osteophyte protrusion of the spine is extra bone that has grown from the bone outward and is sticking into the muscle that surrounds the outside of the spine.  You probably get a sharp pain when bending in that direction.  Degenerative disc disease is not actually a disease, but a normal aging of the bone due to wear and tear.  As this "advances" arthritis of the spine may occur.  Between each vertebra of the spine is a gell like substance that fills the space and cushions the bones. When something happens to compress the bones downward, that cushion is squashed and pushes outward much like a cookie with the filling squashed downward pushing the creamy center outward.  Think of the spine as a string of beads with knots between each bead to keep it from moving around on the string.  The string in the middle is a bundle of nerves and blood vessels that are going down the center of the spinal bones.  Each bead is a bony vertebra and each knot is the disc.  Put the string of beads into a straw.  The straw would be the muscles surrounding and protecting the spine. If you push down on the beads the straw will hold them and protect them, but since there is still some room to move around inside the straw, the beads can move around somewhat either backwards/forward/sideways. If you push downward, the beads will squash the knot and it will compress.  Since it has nowhere to go, the knot will flatten outward and push against the straw and inward against the string.  Also, the beads will not compress straight down, but some will move to the side and compress the knot unevenly.  This knot will flatten outwardly more on one side than the other and creat a wedge-looking knot. When the beads compress outward evenly, the spine will still be in alignment and movement will not necessarily cause pain when you move around.  If the wedge occurs, the bead moves downward only on one side and will cause all the beads above it to shift to the downward sloping side. Your spine is like that. One bulging disc is moving outward and inward at the same time creating pressure on the spinal cord nerves and the outside muscles. Another disc is bulging more on one side than on the other. This wedging is causing a mis-alignment of the vertebra above it.  So when You stand for a while, the compression of the spine due to weight bearing presses on the nerve and gives you pain.  When you are lying down, the cookie-like disc is relieved, but the wedge-like disc is moving more to the compressed side and is pinching the nerve giving you pain.  There is a new surgery that replaces these disc with a small plastic spacer that will re-align the spine and restore flexibility to the spine without pinching nerves.  You might want to discuss this with an orthopedic surgeon that specializes in the spine. Hope this helps.

[dickeyandlizza]

thank you so much, that is very helpful... part of reasoning for mfr was a concern of a tumor inside nerve called a scwanoma seen on my cat scan. does any of these findings on my mri show that?

[dickeyandlizza]

sorry, reasoning for the mri

[Ringo123]

I would like to know what desiccation means... of the L4-5 and L5-S1? Also, a MRI did reveal right lateral disc protrution in same areas of spine which I understand but I don't understand why the pain is pretty much all on the left side...can you explain this?  Thanks

[reva moose]

could you tell me what paracentral protrusion means for c4-5.i have a herninated disc on my c5-6;does this mean another one is forming.

[lka123]

How do you prevent further changes in this if it is in the early stages?