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"Mild disc desiccation at L4-L5 with a 3mm posterior protrusion..."
"A small bulge in a low back disc — very common, often causes no symptoms."
Every finding explained without medical jargon.
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Here's what an actual lumbar spine MRI looks like — before and after Chartly.
IMPRESSION:
1. Multilevel degenerative disc disease, most pronounced at L4-L5 with disc desiccation and a 4mm broad-based posterior disc protrusion causing mild central canal stenosis and moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.
2. Facet arthropathy at L4-L5 and L5-S1.
3. Mild anterolisthesis of L4 on L5, grade 1.
4. No acute fracture or marrow edema.
What it means in plain English:
1. Wear-and-tear in your lower back discs. The disc between L4 and L5 (two of your lower spine bones) has dried out a bit and is bulging slightly into the space where your nerves run. This is causing some narrowing — mild in the main canal, moderate where nerves exit.
2. Arthritis in the small joints of your lower spine. Common with age.
3. One vertebra has slipped slightly forward. This is the smallest grade (1 of 4) — usually stable.
4. Good news: No broken bones, no signs of recent injury or anything urgent.