Cervical spine stenosis?

[GlassCannonLife]

I was hoping to see if any of you have encountered something like this. I had a neck MRI a couple of months ago, and was surprised to see I had cervical kyphosis and some disc issues - it does make sense in hindsight though as I can somewhat see the kyphotic profile when standing and I have some mild neck pain/stiffness.

Please see this article, where cervical spine stenosis cases are examined in a ME/CFS context: link.

Please also refer to my MRI images, which can be found here. Does it seem like the kyphosis I have is causing a stenosis/affecting my spinal cord?

I can't help but feel that it looks like those segments are very close/touching the centre of the spinal cord (you can really see it in some of the axial images).

The radiologist report mentioned that there was no stenosis or chiari malformation etc, and just said the following. It would be great to hear some of your opinions.

MRI CERVICAL SPINE

History
History of hypermobility. Ligament injuries.

Technique
Sagittal T1, sagittal T2, sagittal T2 fat sat and axial T2.

Findings
There is a cervical kyphosis centred at C4-5. Normal cervical cord signal
and morphology. The cranio-cervical junction is normal. The central
atlantoaxial articulation is normal. There is no prevertebral soft tissue
thickening. The ALL, PLL, ligamentum flavum and posterior ligamentous
complex are intact.

C2-3
Normal disc. Normal facets. No canal or foraminal stenosis

C3-4
Normal disc. Normal facets. No canal or foraminal stenosis

C4-5
Shallow broad-based posterior disc protrusion. Disc desiccation. Posterior
central disc annulus fissure. Modic type 2 endplate degenerative change.
Normal facets. No canal or foraminal stenosis

C5-6
Shallow circumferential disc bulge. Disc desiccation. Left anterolateral
disc annulus fissure. Normal facets. No canal or foraminal stenosis.

C6-7
Normal disc. Normal facets. No canal or foraminal stenosis

C7-T1
Normal disc. Normal facets. No canal or foraminal stenosis

Conclusion
Cervical kyphosis
Mild mid cervical intervertebral degenerative change
No nerve compression.

 

[lenora]

HI.....I have a not so mild cervical kyphosis, in addition to lordosis and hyper-extension of the neck (can't think of the name at the moment). I was born with these problems and had trouble sitting up when I was even 5 yrs. old. I just couldn't do it. I was diagnosed at school and immediately began treatments which always involved extensive casts and braces. These were onerous, as you can imagine. Rod surgery hadn't been invented yet, plus we couldn't have afforded it anyway.

I walked, a lot, we had one car and my father had it, thus to school and back, probably 3 miles each way, lots of hills and in retrospect I think it was very good for me. Helped to build up muscle and while I've never had a perfect back, the doctors did succeed in not seeing it worsen.

Yes, I too have plenty of discs problems, but even surgery isn't guaranteed to help the situation. Thus I'm avoiding it as much as possible. I also have spinal stenosis which has never been treated and have been operated on to put in a very painful spinal shunt in and later Arnold-Chiari surgery. The latter helped in a few ways, but neither ever took away the awful pain I live with day to day. Because I was born with it, I assumed that all people had back pain...it never occurred to me that they didn't. (I'm older - 74 yrs. of age.)

Only you know your pain levels. For years I was on fentanyl patches which helped when combined with something like gabapentin (neurontin) or lyrica. Now I'm down to one dose of lyrica per day, no fentanyl. I was one of the fortunate ones, I had no symptoms of addiction, etc. My doctor is a good man, doing his best and I'm not too happy with the day both the doctors and the patients were treated when the fentanyl scandal first broke. I'm reluctant to take pain relievers today, but know that ice is a good standby for me.

I'm not undermining your situation b/c at first it can be overwhelming. Talk to your doctor(s) and see what's recommended. If you're in unbearable pain, ask if it will go away if you have surgery or what difference that surgery will make to your life. Fortunately my neurosurgeon didn't operate until it was absolutely necessary....I consider myself fortunate. I hope you'll receive some answers. There are specialists in scoliosis and surgery, if needed. I would recommended taking your MRI with you if you make an appointment. Yours, Lenora. P.S. I lost 3" in height b/c of surgery....something to ask.

 

[GlassCannonLife]

Thanks @lenora , luckily I don't have much pain at the moment, just a little dull achiness and stiffness.

It just seems to been getting slowly worse over the time I've been stuck mostly in bed because of the muscle loss and my ligament laxity.. I'm hoping it won't worsen my ME/CFS, but I also saw that first article I linked where they attribute the onset of CFS in those patients to their spinal issues - sort of like CCI but different.

I might try and find some specialists to talk to, but it's slim pickings here in Brisbane.

 

[lenora]

That too bad that you can't find a good doctor in Brisbane. If I were in your shoes, I would definitely go to a specialist in scoliosis....they're around and have been since I was a child. It's highly possible they'll know of the other illnesses or diseases and can give you some proper advice, or the name of someone who can.

It's worth you while to check around and find what you can. You may have to be built up somewhat before an operation can take place....I have no idea. I just know that I have a lot of disc problems and as long as my pain levels aren't increasing, I'll live with them. These have been showing up on MRI's for years. Interestingly enough I don't have a hump on my back. I am on fosamax to build bone strength and have been since it first came out (don't remember how long it has been). You may check into one of the organophosphates for yourself....I think it has stabilized me. And yes, I know that a lot of people are against them, but for some of us they're a very good thing.

You can be injected for a period that lasts 6 mos., or do like I do....take the medication once/wk. on an empty stomach. You have to be up or sitting in order for it not to damage the intestines. I only chose fosamax b/c it was the first one out. Feel better. Yours, Lenora.