Just wondered if anyone has any knowledge of mri results that my GP ordered and has said just show degeneration but I’m not so sure.
Cervical: Shallow disc/osteophyte C4/5-5/6 with mild C5 and moderate C6 exit foraminal narrowing. No cord compromise.
Shallow disc bulging at C6/7 without cord compromise. C7 and 8 exit foramina are patent.
Thoracic: At T8/9, shallow left subarticular disc protrusion without cord compromise. Exit foramina are patent
Sequences: Sagittal T2/T1/STIR and axial T2
Mild disc dehydration at L3-L4, L4-L5 and L5-S1.
Moderate disc dehydration at L5-S1 with slight loss of disc height.
Type II (chronic) modic vertebral endplate change at L5-S1.
Slight straightening of normal lumbar lordosis.
The cord terminates at a normal level and there is no intrathecal mass.
Axial imaging has been performed through the lower 4 mobile disc spaces.
No focal disc protrusion or nerve root impingement at any of these levels.
Facet joint degeneration.
Why was the MRI done as in what was it trying to find? PsA inflammation? Sadly it’s always hit and miss with MRI’s trying to find PsA inflammation if that was what you were looking for as PsA flits about so much by the day. So if on the day of the MRI you were not as acutely symptomatic as you can be, an MRI just won’t find the inflammation. It can always find damage though and I would say these findings indicate a little damage happening but much depends on your age and other factors. I’ve had several MRI’s - all looking for damage though not PsA inflammation. Thankfully there isn’t that much damage although it doesn’t always feel like that for me.
My guess is that this would all be considered normal in your '50s. You’ve got some very mild arthritic changes in your cervical and thoracic spine. You have some mild disc changes. In your lumbar spine, the discs changes are somewhat more significant, but those are aging, not herniated.
Honestly, it’s probably what most of our backs look like at this age. And again, the question is what were they looking for in the first place?
Thanks so much for your replies. My GP ordered the tests as I’m having problems with all those areas and ribs. I believe she was looking for inflammation but didn’t find any. I was in pretty good nick when I had them done.
I shall take the results to my rheumatologist. Sometimes I feel such a fraud when nothing shows up but the pain and stiffness is all too real
But your rheumy shouldn’t be basing your PsA actiity on MRI scans in this way now given you are already diagnosed. PsA flits about inflaming things whenever it wants and very painfully too. Your account of symptoms should be enough to indicate increased disease activity just on its own. So why are you needing to see evidence of it when you are suffering it?
If it helps I’ve had horrendous rib inflammation for the past 4 weeks and continuing. I emailed my rheumy about it, she talked me to on the phone, we agreed we have to give Skyrizi longer since I only started it in January, she told me to take 3 days of steroids as sharp shock to see if it reset things and to email again if it remains intolerable. Which I am about to do as although it helped a bit it’s not enough. At no point did she require to see the evidence of what I’m complaining about. It’s so well known that PsA can cause rib inflammation like this too and it’s so well known it can last a longer time in the ribs also. It’s a classic PsA and horrendous issue for many of us at times. But there should be no doubt it’s from PsA though.
