AboutNancy Brough, MA Expertise I can answer any question about swallowing disorders and acquired and/or developmental communication disorders. Examples are aphasia, brain injury (traumatic or from strokes), and degenerative neurologic diseases. I also have specialized knowledge in craniofacial disorders (i.e., cleft palate.)
Experience Experience in the area: I practiced as a speech pathologist for 20 years . Education/Credentials: BA and MA in Communicative Disorders.
Question Can you help me? I just left my Drs and he is telling me I need neck surgery instead of Physical therapy. I do not understand what anything on the MRI report means so I was hoping you could tell me so when I go and see the Neurologist I can push for PT over surgery. Thanks!
1. Posterior disk protrusion at c 5-6 resulting in moderate AP narrowing of the spinal canal.
2. Moderate right-sided foraminal encroachment at c 5-6 with compromise of the exiting right c6 nerve root.
3. muscle spasm.
I really thank you for any enlightenment you can give me.
Thanks again
Marlena
Answer Hi, Marlena,
Your MRI says that the disc are beginning to compromise the space where your nerves run down through your spinal column at the point where your neck meets your shoulder. Only one vertebral space is involved.
"AP" is just an abbreviation for "anterior/posterior", which means from front to back. The disc is pushing into your spinal cord space from the right side and from front-to-back. Together, the intrusion into the spinal cord space begins where the nerve that is responsible for your neck pain emerges from the spinal column. "c6" stands for "cervical vertebra 6". Likewise, "c5-c6" means the space between cervical vertebra 5 and cervical vertebra 6.
Physical therapy will not help in this situation because it's a question of the bone/disc space being narrowed by about 50%. It needs to be surgically treated.
Without surgery, the problem is likely to get worse; not only in terms of pain, but muscle weakness could very well happen, too.
The operation, usually a "laminectomy", is done by neurosurgeons every day. What you have is really quite common.
Physical therapy is done post-operatively.
I hope I helped.
Nancy
