could this be degenerative disc disease?

Question

Help- I'm 35 and a mess.

Here is my MRI report

L2-3: Normal
L3-4: Small central posterior annular tear, no significant disc buldge, herniation, central canal stenosis or neural foraminal narrowing
L4-5: Mild diffuse disc buldge and minimal bilateral degenerative facet hypertrophy
L5-S1 Minimal bilateral facet hypertrophy

Cervical spine:
Cervicothoracic alignment: there is straightening of normal lordosis
Intervertebral discs: Multilevel degenerative desiccation

C2-3 Normal
C3-4 Normal
C4-5 Evolution of the previously noted disc buldge into a small disc osteophyte complex
C5-6 Bilateral degenerative uncovertebral hypertrophy
C6-7 Normal
C7-T1 Normal

I have been in chronic pain for almost a year. I had a c spine MRI done in Jan and was told it was "normal" I was sent to a chiro for treatment (cervical strain, thoracic outlet, carpal tunnel) Started treatment in May and have made no progress! i'm worse now and my lower spine is KILLING me (which he adjusted)

Answer 1

DDD is not a Disease but part of the natural aging process. The discs dehydrate, that is DDD and it starts at 30 years of age, completes about 65 and we all have it. So here we go L2-3 normal which is good L3-4 annular tear, so wear and tear, but no disc bulge, excellent. L4-5 mild bulge excellent. this is a normal healthy aging process on the Lumbar area of the back which take all the weight. The rest is normal as to be expected. I am not sure who sent you to a Chiro with cervical strain, thoracic outlet let alone carpel tunnel? Especially when the neck and thoracic discs are normal, seems odd.

Answer 2

Sorry to hear you are hurting. The longer an individual 'lives' with pain the greater the toll on the entire person-physical, mental and emotional. My response to your question is my own questions- were you in an accident or experience some other trauma a year ago that triggered your pain syndrome? If so, what exactly happened to you that resulted in an MRI, are the results (above) from the report you talked about having in Jan or have you had more than one? Who sent you to chiropractor and is that the diagnosis the chiro gave or other professional in order to send you to chiro? What kind of work do you do? Off the cuff, without having the requested info about your situation, I would venture a safe guess that you may be experiencing a myofascial pain syndrome, accompanied by a lumbo-sacral compression with related sub-occipital and cranio-sacral impingement. You may or may not have precursors to DJD, but I'm leaning more towards a soft-tissue, connective tissue type condition- not really bone related. Want more information? I'd be happy to expand I just need more information please.?

Answer 3

I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease when I was 20. I was devastated when the spine specialist told me that there was nothing I could do to fix it or stop it from progressing. He just told me that I'd have episodes of pain off and on for the rest of my life. So, after years of back pain that I thought I couldn't do anything about, I ended up meeting a chiropractor in my Sunday School class. One day, he saw how much pain I was in and offered to take me to his office and examine me. Turns out that I had more problems than degenerating discs, and he found other causes for my pain. I've been going for adjustments for a little over a year now. My problems are so severe that he can't "fix" me, but can help me keep my pain lower. I'd advise you to see a chiropractor, as they do different types of treatments and x-rays than other doctors. Most likely, surgery won't help anyway, at least not with degenerating discs. I'd also advise taking extra vitamin C supplements each day, as it helps repair damaged connective tissue.

Answer 4

Hello. Sounds like a degerated disc to me. I am very sorry to hear about your pain. I know how you feel. I had a degenerated disc C5/C6 which pinched the nerve to my right arm and also put alot of pressure on my spinal chord.

After months of therapy and meds, the pain never went away and my arm was weakening. I tried acupuncture, chiro, tractions, etc. Nothing worked.

Finally, I decided to have a cervical fusion. My surgery was 10 weeks ago and the pain is gone and my right arm is back to full strength. I'll go back to work next week after being down for 5 months.

Now, my operation worked great for me. I hear that there is a 90% success rate with this procedure. I just thought that I'd tell you my story with hopes of giving you options.

Good luck with everything.

Answer 5

My diagnosis on my back is even worse and I'm told "for lack of a better word,you have Arthritis".