Should this be causing so much pain? and the urination too

[somuchpain180]

Could you help me with my MRI and symptoms?
by somuchpain180, 4 hours ago
Finding: mild anterior wedging deformity of L1 body. Moderate anterior spurring at L1-2. The conus medullaris ends at about T12.
L1-2 minimal diffuse posterior disc bulge, decreased disc heigh with disc dehydration. L4-5 Minimal diffuse posterior disc bulg with sac effacement. Bilateral facet hypertrophy, mild neural foraminal stenosis without definate root compression. L5-S1 mild bilateral facet hypertrophy.

I am having extreme pain, in my buttocks, down my legs, both sides of low back, and oddly I am urinating all the time. Its like I cant get it all out. Could this be related, and should I be in so much pain?

[somuchpain180]

Just in the very beginning of it. First eval with Spine Center on Monday. Thank you so very much. Sometimes I have pain that goes down my leg, and my big toe gets numb too. I was just worried aoub the bladder, because its the most annoying.

[Kalvin]

Sorry it took me so long to get to your post.

Ok, the anterior wedging deformity at L1 isn’t anything to work about. The moderate spurring at L1-2 is just arthritis and it doesn’t say it’s compressing anything. The part about the Conus Medullaris is normal.

L1-2 disc bulge is degenerative (age related) as well as loss in disc height and hydration. As we age our disc dry out, shrink a little and lose water, that’s all this means.

L4-5 disc bulge, this one must be a little bigger, because it’s pushing on the Thecal sac, which is the outer covering of the spinal canal. The Bilateral facet hypertrophy is related to your Facet joints, you have a pair at each vertebra, and they connect all of the vertebrae and allow coordinated movement of the vertebral column. Hypertrophy, means that as a result of wear and tear on these joints, arthritis develops, and just like any other joint, the arthritis tends to make the joint larger, that’s what it means, bilateral means both sides. So both facet joints at L4-5 are affected. This whole process can generate a lot of back pain.

Mild neural foraminal stenosis without definite root compression- The Neural Foramina is where the spinal nerves come through from the spinal canal, stenosis means narrowing. I think what its say here is that the arthritis from your hypertrophic facet joints has spread into the foramina and narrowed it a little bit. Without definite compression means that the Radiologist can’t tell for certain if a nerve root is being compressed at this level. If it is being compressed, it could be the source of some of your pain.

L5-S1 mild bilateral facet hypertrophy, I explained at L4-5, however its mild at this level (not severe).

The pain you’re having in buttock and low back could be caused by your Facet joint problems at L4-5. Facet joint pain doesn’t generally go below the knee, if yours is going below the knee, it could be related to your so-call not definite nerve compression at this same level. All these things are related in a way, but one problem might be causing one pain and another could be causing another pain. It’s complicated. And urinary changes can happen with problems with the spine and nerves, I’ve experienced it too.

What stage are you in your treatment, have you been to Physical Therapy yet? You might want to look into Facet joint injections and other epidurals as well. I heard they can help a lot.


Take Care