Back Update

Update On My Back - better title?

I had an MRI last week, 124 days after the initial "injury." I met with my spine doc yesterday to go over the results. The short version is that it didn't provide much clarity on what our next steps should be. You may stop reading now if that's all you needed.

The longer version...

Essentially, the L5-S1 is still herniated (5mm, which they consider mild) - but that is interesting because it's 4 months after the initial problem. So it's still herniated but there is also something they are referring to as a "fragment", although my doc is unclear whether it's completely broken off or not. But it's a disc fragment of decent size (10mm by 6mm by 9mm) that is displacing my nerve root. That piece is showing a higher T2 signal, which he tells me means it has some globbiness to it - either fluid like a normal disc would, or inflammation. It's paracentral, which means it's closer in to the spinal cord than where we initially thought the pinch was occurring.

There is a mild bulge at the L4-5 and mild to moderate degeneration and something else that I don't understand. I'm reading my copy of the results while I'm writing this.

The tech's conclusion on me: moderately severe L5-S1 degeneration with a herniation that is pinching the S1 nerve. Mild degeneration in the next disc up (L4-5).

So basically that didn't help. I can either watch and wait (this was my pick), have an epidural steroid (to reduce inflammation if that is, in fact, the problem), or get some surgical consults. He was open to all three. I opted to wait. We can get to the other two later.

I'll continue doing the circuit training they taught me (all spine-safe activities), try to get some cardio added in, and go back to rehab once a month in their maintenance program. And at some point, if I decide I've had enough, we'll explore the injections or surgical consults.

There ya have it.