Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction.
I had MRIs done in January because of constant and worsening back/hip pain and trouble walking without pain. I had an epidural injection last week which made everything so much worse. The PM doctor pretty much told me there was nothing else he could do. He said my spine isn't as bad on the MRIs as my pain level would indicate. He said no surgeon would touch me, which is fine, I don't want surgery.
I was looking over my MRI report from January and was wondering what these things mean....if any of you understand medical lingo better than I do:
L5-S1 - There is mild right-sided facet arthropathy. There is no focal disc herniation, central canal or significant foraminal stenosis
L3-L4 - Mild circumferential disc bulge which is asymmetrically greater toward the left without focal disc herniation. The ventral thecal sac is slightly effaced,
Mild degenerative disk changes noted at L2-L3 through L5-S1
I GREATLY regret getting the epidural injection. I was learning to live with the pain, and now the pain is so much worse.
I was looking over my MRI report from January and was wondering what these things mean....if any of you understand medical lingo better than I do:
L5-S1 - There is mild right-sided facet arthropathy. There is no focal disc herniation, central canal or significant foraminal stenosis
L3-L4 - Mild circumferential disc bulge which is asymmetrically greater toward the left without focal disc herniation. The ventral thecal sac is slightly effaced,
Mild degenerative disk changes noted at L2-L3 through L5-S1
I GREATLY regret getting the epidural injection. I was learning to live with the pain, and now the pain is so much worse.
I would hope that the pain will calm down over time. The injection obviously aggravated things.
I'm sorry I'm not really able to interpret the radiology report. We in this group aren't exactly qualified. But mild degenerative disk changes is common and doesn't generally cause pain. There is something called DDD degenerative disk disease But apparently that doesn't even cause pain unless advanced.
Maybe it's the L-3 L-4 disk bulge and is the culprit and you just feel pain more than some.
Arthropathy is to do with the joint and inflammation.
So you may have some mild arthritis?
I have lower back pain all the time and doc says I have mild arthritis. Mild DDD.
Holy heck. Mild? It can really hurt some days. Doc says to me to stretch and do back strengthening exercises. Said to keep my weight down as big tummy pulls on back muscles.
Stomach muscles support the spine so strengthening the abdominal core muscles can help support the back.
Physical therapy maybe helpful too.
It's SO annoying - When the physician sees a radiology report or images and tell us that we shouldn't be feeling so much pain Just because there's no evidence for it in the reports. I don't know why they say that.
If we feel pain then we feel pain. I don't know why they think it's a one size fits all and that we should feel a certain pain level on the scale. Someone else who has the same thing as you may have a pain level of 3 but you have a 7.
Everyone is different. There maybe a reason why you feel pain more.
I feel pain more. I have RA and fibromyalgia and I'm extra sensitive.
It's best to speak with a physician to explain your results accurately.
I hope the pain subsides soon. I hope you find answers too.
I am starting PT tomorrow and hopefully found a place that does the warm water therapy. When I called she said they did, and since I have had PT that didn't help me much she said they would probably try that for me. I am looking forward to it!