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Disc desiccation, disc hernia, annular tear – CONFUSED!

January 2016 I was in a side impact car accident. (Hit just in front of drivers side door) I spent several months in physical therapy and have tried different meds for pain releif with little effect. I recently had an MRI and am confused, the doctor seemed to be as well! That didn’t help! The MRI said the folowing -There is disc desiccation with a disc hernia at the L5-S1 level which will be further evaluated in the axial plane. There is a small focus of increased T2 signal within the posterior aspect of the L5-S1 disc, which is not appreciated on any other sequence but may represent a small annular tear. L5-S1 There is a broad-based disc bulge which is eccentric to the left without any significant neural foraminal or central can stenosis. Minimal spondylosis at the L5-S1 level.ANY info you could give me would be so appreciated. Thank you in advance, Crystal

Best Answers

doc4bax

doc4bax

Disc desiccation means the discs are losing water; they are degenerating (degenerative arthritis). L5/S1 means lumbar and the 5th one, which is the last. S1 is the sacrum or rather the base that the spine sits on. L5/S1 disc is the very last or lowest disc in the spine. Disc hernia means the disc between the vertebras is pushing out. A disc is like a jelly filled donut. The disc has two parts; the outside layer is a cartilage ring called the annulus and is like the dough that surrounds the jelly in the donut. The inside of the disc is called a nucleus and is like the jelly in the center of the donut. The jelly in the disc is uncompressible, at least the body can't compress it, so what happens in an accident is there are compression forces that develop and compress the spine and also torques it, this drives the vertebrae closer together and compresses the disc, the nucleus cannot be compressed so it wants to escape, the annulus is designed to contain it but at these forces can't. The nucleus tears through layers of the annulus and causes the cartilage to bulge out just like the jelly in a donut would if you pushed on it. The more layers of annulus that are torn (the more layers of dough torn), the more the bulge is or the more the jelly bulges in the donut. A protrusion means more layers have torn, a herniation means even more and a prolapse means the nucleus has ruptured all the way through the disc. What the radiologist is trying to describe is that he suspects the last disc in your spine may have some annular tears. That means the nucleus has shifted and torn trough a few layers of cartilage. No big deal, it will heal. By the way, chiropractic care is an excellent choice for treatment of this condition. Anyway, its not 100%, you may not have any tears at all. He goes on to describe the L5/S1 disc as bulging, which is what I believe is going on. The radiologist initially stated it was a herniation. He goes on talking about not having stenosis or foraminal encroachment. This means the area is contained and not compressing any nerves. That is a good. He goes on mentioning spondylosis, these are bone spurs. They develop do to abnormal stresses on the spine. This by the way was not caused by the accident. This takes much more time to develop. The bulging is minimal which is good; again chiropractic management of these conditions is an excellent choice. We see people in the exact condition on a daily basis.


1 Comment found

    doc4bax

    9 10

    Disc desiccation means the discs are losing water; they are degenerating (degenerative arthritis). L5/S1 means lumbar and the 5th one, which is the last. S1 is the sacrum or rather the base that the spine sits on. L5/S1 disc is the very last or lowest disc in the spine. Disc hernia means the disc between the vertebras is pushing out. A disc is like a jelly filled donut. The disc has two parts; the outside layer is a cartilage ring called the annulus and is like the dough that surrounds the jelly in the donut. The inside of the disc is called a nucleus and is like the jelly in the center of the donut. The jelly in the disc is uncompressible, at least the body can’t compress it, so what happens in an accident is there are compression forces that develop and compress the spine and also torques it, this drives the vertebrae closer together and compresses the disc, the nucleus cannot be compressed so it wants to escape, the annulus is designed to contain it but at these forces can’t. The nucleus tears through layers of the annulus and causes the cartilage to bulge out just like the jelly in a donut would if you pushed on it. The more layers of annulus that are torn (the more layers of dough torn), the more the bulge is or the more the jelly bulges in the donut. A protrusion means more layers have torn, a herniation means even more and a prolapse means the nucleus has ruptured all the way through the disc. What the radiologist is trying to describe is that he suspects the last disc in your spine may have some annular tears. That means the nucleus has shifted and torn trough a few layers of cartilage. No big deal, it will heal. By the way, chiropractic care is an excellent choice for treatment of this condition. Anyway, its not 100%, you may not have any tears at all. He goes on to describe the L5/S1 disc as bulging, which is what I believe is going on. The radiologist initially stated it was a herniation. He goes on talking about not having stenosis or foraminal encroachment. This means the area is contained and not compressing any nerves. That is a good. He goes on mentioning spondylosis, these are bone spurs. They develop do to abnormal stresses on the spine. This by the way was not caused by the accident. This takes much more time to develop. The bulging is minimal which is good; again chiropractic management of these conditions is an excellent choice. We see people in the exact condition on a daily basis.

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