night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
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Would one of you fine folks who understands doctorese please interpret my MRI report for me? My doctor did a very poor job at explaining this and a medical dictionary still doesn't make the whole of it make any sense. I'm not a complete idiot, and I understand the gist of it, but what exactly is it saying is the problem and what the heck is causing this horrible hot-knife-sticking-in-my-spine pain based on these results?
Thanks in advance for any help putting this in plain English for me!
IT READS-
MR of the thoracic spine is within normal limits. There is anterior wedging at T7 but no marrow edema is present and these findings could represent physiologic wedging or possibly an old healed compression type deformity. The other vertebral bodies appear well-maintained.
Disk space narrowing and disk bulging is present at T6-7 and T7-8 as well as T12-L1. No disk extrusion is seen. The appearance of the thoracic cord is unremarkable and no intradural mass is noted.
Conclusion: Degenerative Disk Disease in the mid and lower thoracic spine with probable old compression deformity or physiologic wedging of T7.
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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
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mpcagh
Member
Reged: 12/27/03
Posts: 130
Loc: California
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MRI---new foreign language huh? Hope someone can explain it to you! I wish I could....maybe in 4 years when I finish school.
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"There's a fine line between love and hate, and a mile full of lessons in between." William M. Siegel, Jr.
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voyager
Old Hand
Reged: 04/17/03
Posts: 413
Loc: United States Virgin Islands
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It means that you have a chronic painful condition which requires physical therapy, nsaids, and on occassion hydro. Hope that clarifies things! 
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Greycie
Old Hand
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 461
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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Maybe this will help a bit more-
MR of the thoracic spine is within normal limits. There is anterior wedging at T7 but no marrow edema is present and these findings could represent physiologic wedging or possibly an old healed compression type deformity. The other vertebral bodies appear well-maintained.
Disk space narrowing and disk bulging is present at T6-7 and T7-8 as well as T12-L1. No disk extrusion is seen. The appearance of the thoracic cord is unremarkable and no intradural mass is noted.
Conclusion: Degenerative Disk Disease in the mid and lower thoracic spine with probable old compression deformity or physiologic wedging of T7.
The conclusion is what youre most concerned with- its a brief summary of the findings. Its saying degenerative changes (normal changes that occur with time) in the mid and lower thoracic (mid) spine. Probable (more than likely) a compression deformity which is referring to something that may have happened some time ago and has healed in its own right, but is still out of the norm or normal wedging of T7 which is the vertebral disc. It does refer to bulging disc at T6-7; T7-8 and T12-L1. The T# is your thoracic vertebrae number and the L-1 is the lumbar vertebrae. Bulged discs often times will fuse together on their own if you take it easy and dont go doing any extreme type of sports- however, they can also worsen and what could happen from there
well, that you should discuss with your Doctor. You should also have discussed your MRI report with him- this should all have been explained to you so you could understand it.
Hope this helps.
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"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire
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night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
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Thanks for your thoughtful response. My doctor actually left a 10 second message on my machine stating that I had "bad disks and DDD"...I asked them to fax me a copy of the report. This T7 injury is from the auto accident in 1992 (head-on collision while I was 7 mos pregnant) which has plagued me ever since. They never did an MRI back then--just called it "soft tissue injury"...
I did understand most of the report (except for what wedging is and what the compression issue means NOW.) But I did not understand whether this report explains the kind of pain I am having in the mid-spine (just above the bra strap) that feels like a hot knife sticking in my back ALL THE TIME with pain severe enough to wake me several times at night if I happen to roll over and lay on my back. Since I make my living at the computer and working at my computer exacerbates the pain ten-fold, I'm really in a catch-22 situation. My pain level is always around a 4, with it escalating to a 7 or 8 with ANY computer work or sewing (I sew costumes for the Renaissance Festival for extra summer money.) Once my back pain gets to the 7-8 level, it STAYS that way for days.
I've tried years of chiropractic (is FAR too painful to endure any longer and I wonder if my problem wasn't WORSENED by the bone-crackers), multiple courses of PT, massage therapy (twice a week for years), medications such as muscle relaxers, NSAIDS and other pain-relievers. None of these things has made much of a difference. I simply can't fathom "just living with it" the rest of my life. It's really frustrating and is single-handedly preventing me from having regular employment.
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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
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Greycie
Old Hand
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 461
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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The spine is sort of broken up into three sections- the cervical spine (the upper part- neck area); the thoracic spine (the mid part of your spine/back- and yes, where you're feeling that sharp knife-like pain around your bra-strap area- the bulged discs are causing that); and the lumbar spine (the lower part of your back). Depending on where the damage is, you can also experience other symptoms depending on the severity of the damage- usually cervical spine issues are related to pains you may have running down your arms and lumbar spine issues can sometimes, again depending on the severity and nature of the damage, run into your hips and legs. I totally empathize with your pain as I have (at least as of my 6/01 MRI- I'm sure it's much worse now) 2 bulged discs in my lumbar spine that also wake me up throughout the night- but not merely if I lay on my back- had to get a special bed to sleep in a bed again- but I'll wake up feeling as though my hips and spine are crushed throughout the night. I also work a desk job- in disability. I've also been very intrigued by back issues since having my own problems and wanting a better understanding of them. What I can tell you is that the worst things for your back are sitting for any length of time and standing for any length of time. The best? Believe it or not, walking. Though, you can't exactly walk and work at the same time anymore than I can  I will also tell you, I believe with every bone in my body that a chiropractor actually caused the damage to my discs. All it takes is one quack that doesn't know what he's doing to mess up your body for life. My problem? I didn't get my diagnosis for about 7 years after the initial injury. At that point, all the Ortho. surgeon could tell me was he knew at some point in my life I had injured my spine, but there was no way to tell when or how. I just remember the one really, really bad chiro experience which left me feeling the pain of the adjustment was far worse than the pinch I'd felt which brought me to him in the first place. I have since found a truly great chiro, but it took some chiro shopping to find him. Others tried telling me it was just muscular and would leave me unable to get off of their tables after an adjustment. Yes, I do find relief when my GOOD chiro adjusts me in a way that feels as though he's pushed my hips off of my spine, but get one bad one and watch out. I also understand what you mean about just 'living' with the pain not being an option- but this is what I've realized- when you allow the pain to control your life to the extent that you stop doing the things that you love- then what sort of life are you living, anyway? Depending on your age and activity level, surgery could be an option- but I wouldn't recommend it unless you were wheelchair bound. My experience w/back surgery (reading about it, of course, working in disability) is that, more often than not, you'll either get little or no relief from the surgery or you may come out worse than you went in. It CAN be beneficial for some people, but until it's worth risking losing everything (your ability to get up and walk), then don't consider it an option and do EVERYTHING you can in life- don't take walking for granted... get out and walk every day because there may come a day when you no longer can and do you really want to be kicking yourself in the hiney saying, "I wished I had ridden a bike when I still could..." I don't. Hopefully I don't sound like I'm preaching, certainly not the intent, just hoping to let you know you're not alone and maybe give some insight which is helpful. Do take care!!
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"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire
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oreo
Journeyman
Reged: 05/17/03
Posts: 62
Loc: North-lived South but prefer t...
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Wow! You just answered questions I had about MY MRI report! Only mine is cervical! I went to a Chiropractor twice and he sent me into a pain-filled nightmare that lasted for a month! I suffer from arm/neck/headache pain-burning pain in my right arm and headaches that can last a week if I don't have any meds. Not migraines, I don't think because my whole neck, head, arm, and shoulders ache and throb. Thanks for the info!!!! PT helped some but the results don't last! Thanks again for the interpretation!
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