Question
I was recently in an auto accident on 05/25/07. I was rearended at a stop light, the car behind me was going about 10 mph. I instantly felt pain in my mid back. I had a lumbar xray at the er and it was normal. I then had a mri on 06/01/07. The mri shows the following. L5-S1 small annular tear, shallow disc protrusion ventral thecal sac. Foramina are mildly narrowed. L4-L5 annular tear wiath a broad-based disc protrusion, mild to moderate bilateral foraminal narrowing, ligamentum flavum hypertrophy and hypertrophic facet disease. Canal is mildly stenotic. L3-L4 concentric dis protrusion mild bilateral foraminal narrowing. Canal is borderline stenotic, ligamenta flava hypertrophy and hypertrophic facet disease. Please explain to me what this means. I am currently going to physical therapy 3's per week and will be going to pain management in 2 weeks. I am taking several different pain medications

Answer
Although I'm not a physician or surgeon, I can say that there is a ring-shaped tear in the disk between the 5th lumbar and 1st sacral vertebra with a slight bulge against the front portion of the spinal cord lining.  The open area for the nerves leaving those vertebra is a little narrow.

There is also a similar tear in the disk between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebra with the bulge going all the way around the ring.  The open area for the nerves leaving those vertebra is a little more narrow.  The vertebra are somewhat degenerated from an ongoing process and the area in the middle of the vertebra where the spine is located is a bit narrowed.

The same is true for the next level - the disk between the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebra.

Stick with the physical therapy, stretching, and other therapies before considering surgery.  Surgery doesn't always fix the problem and some folks actually get worse.

Thanks for your question, Lori.  I hope that my answer was helpful.