Aa
Disc Buldge?
I have recently been diagnosed with Hyperreflexia and experience numbness frequently in my upper and lower extremities. My neurologist sent me for a MRI of the Cervical Spine to check for myelopathy? Below are the results.
Marrow signal intensity within the cervical and the upper thoracic spine including T1 through T5 is normal on the Sagittal T1, T2 and stir. Alignment is anatomic. Signal intesity within the cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord is normal on all of these series including multiple axial T2 images which were acquired using gradient and fast spin echo techniques.
On the axial images there is no evidence of cord compression, spinal stenosis or foraminal stenosis.
There is a disc buldge eccentric to the right at T3-4. This results in partial attenuation of the ventral subarachnoid space but does not result in cord compression.
Impression:
Normal MRI of the cervical spine and spinal cord.
Disc Buldge eccentric to the Right at T3-4
Can someone please explain to me what the Disc buldge means? Could this be why I experience numbness? My doctor has his receptionist call me and schedule and appointment for October.....with no explanation of this MRI result. I've had other MRI's as well that have shown 8 lesions and 2 cysts. However he told me they were ok as well. AHH this is so frustrating!! I should mention I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!
Marrow signal intensity within the cervical and the upper thoracic spine including T1 through T5 is normal on the Sagittal T1, T2 and stir. Alignment is anatomic. Signal intesity within the cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord is normal on all of these series including multiple axial T2 images which were acquired using gradient and fast spin echo techniques.
On the axial images there is no evidence of cord compression, spinal stenosis or foraminal stenosis.
There is a disc buldge eccentric to the right at T3-4. This results in partial attenuation of the ventral subarachnoid space but does not result in cord compression.
Impression:
Normal MRI of the cervical spine and spinal cord.
Disc Buldge eccentric to the Right at T3-4
Can someone please explain to me what the Disc buldge means? Could this be why I experience numbness? My doctor has his receptionist call me and schedule and appointment for October.....with no explanation of this MRI result. I've had other MRI's as well that have shown 8 lesions and 2 cysts. However he told me they were ok as well. AHH this is so frustrating!! I should mention I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.
Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history and review your imaging, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.
The cervical spine is the part of the spine around the neck area; the thoracic spine from shoulder area to mid back, the lumbar area down the lower back. It sounds like there are no abnormalities in the cervical spine, neither in the spinal cord or spinal column. It sounds like in the thoracic cord, between the 3rd and 4th thoracic level, there is bulging disc. It sounds like it doesn't compress on the cord or on the nerves as they exit the spine.
There is a material that cushions the space occurring between the vertebra (bones of the spine). This material may sort of be squished out from in between the two bones; this is called a herniated or bulging disc. Buldging discs occur with age, but can occur in younger people, particularly athletes or people involved in heavy lifting or other physical activity. The level of your disc, at the T3-T4 level, would be unlikely to explain the numbness in your arms, since it is lower than where the nerves come off the spine to go to the arms. Hyperreflexia can sometimes happen in otherwise healthy people, particularly young women, and would need to be taken in the context of other abnormalities on exam or other symptoms. Other potential causes of numbness in the arms is neuropathy, which is less likely if the reflexes are hyper, but in general are one cause of limb numbness.
With time, the amount of disk that has herniated shrinks and with time resolves completely in most people. Many patients don't have symptoms from a disc at all, and it is just an incidental finding, done to look for other problems. Other patients have mild back pain or shooting pain down a limb, with the severe pain resolving over 1-2 weeks in most. For some patients the pain is severe, or in a minority of patients, surgery needs to be done. This often is the case when the herniated disc is pressing on the spinal cord itself, or on nerves, which it does not sound like is the case in you. Symptoms suggesting the need for urgent surgery includes muscle weakness, loss of bowel or bladder control, loss of sensation.
It would be best for you to discuss the severity and implications of your MRI findings and how they relate to your symptoms, as well as therapy, if necessary, and other potential causes of your extremity numbness, with your physicians.
Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.
Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history and review your imaging, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.
The cervical spine is the part of the spine around the neck area; the thoracic spine from shoulder area to mid back, the lumbar area down the lower back. It sounds like there are no abnormalities in the cervical spine, neither in the spinal cord or spinal column. It sounds like in the thoracic cord, between the 3rd and 4th thoracic level, there is bulging disc. It sounds like it doesn't compress on the cord or on the nerves as they exit the spine.
There is a material that cushions the space occurring between the vertebra (bones of the spine). This material may sort of be squished out from in between the two bones; this is called a herniated or bulging disc. Buldging discs occur with age, but can occur in younger people, particularly athletes or people involved in heavy lifting or other physical activity. The level of your disc, at the T3-T4 level, would be unlikely to explain the numbness in your arms, since it is lower than where the nerves come off the spine to go to the arms. Hyperreflexia can sometimes happen in otherwise healthy people, particularly young women, and would need to be taken in the context of other abnormalities on exam or other symptoms. Other potential causes of numbness in the arms is neuropathy, which is less likely if the reflexes are hyper, but in general are one cause of limb numbness.
With time, the amount of disk that has herniated shrinks and with time resolves completely in most people. Many patients don't have symptoms from a disc at all, and it is just an incidental finding, done to look for other problems. Other patients have mild back pain or shooting pain down a limb, with the severe pain resolving over 1-2 weeks in most. For some patients the pain is severe, or in a minority of patients, surgery needs to be done. This often is the case when the herniated disc is pressing on the spinal cord itself, or on nerves, which it does not sound like is the case in you. Symptoms suggesting the need for urgent surgery includes muscle weakness, loss of bowel or bladder control, loss of sensation.
It would be best for you to discuss the severity and implications of your MRI findings and how they relate to your symptoms, as well as therapy, if necessary, and other potential causes of your extremity numbness, with your physicians.
Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.
Thank you so much for your help!
You are reading content posted in the Neurology Forum
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease
