Hi - this is my first time here, but I'm guessing I'll be back. I have a history of three spinal fusions. The first one fixed L4-L5 and L5-S1; two years later L4-L5 had to be redone because it hadn't taken. Nine years ago I developed a retrolisthesis at L3-L4, as a not-unexpected consequence of the earlier fusion; I underwent another fusion surgery. (A retrolisthesis is the opposite of a spondylolisthesis - the vertebra moves backward instead of forward.) Now it's moving up: L2-L3 is now showing a retro. I've spent the last hour searching for something that will tell me what grade it is (I've only seen the X-ray report, I haven't spoken to the doctor yet). I can't find anything that defines which grade it is by the size of the slippage. Ie, my L2 is slipped 6.1 mm back over L3 - what grade does that make it? I don't believe I have much foraminal stenosis, because I'm only having mild radiating pain. I'll probably be getting an MRI. (I also have what's called a pseudoarthrosis at L3-L4, the last level fused, meaning the bone put in the disc space when they were fused didn't take, didn't grow into the surrounding vertebra). I've long forgotten what life without back pain is like. Surgery, injections, ablations, even a spinal-cord stimulator, nothing seems to help.
So my main question is buried in there: What Grade retrolisthesis is a 6.1-mm slippage? I appreciate your feedback.

Symptoms are gait instability, proprioception issues, fine motor weakness in hands, tingling in both hands and arms.
FINDINGS: No fractures or dislocations are seen. No destructive bony changes are seen. The vertebral bodies are maintained in height. The pedicles are intact. No facet malalignment is seen. The pedicles are intact. The craniocervical alignment and atlantoaxial articulation are unremarkable. The visualized structures within the cranial fossa are grossly unremarkable. No spinal cord myelopathy or contusion is seen. Small mucous retention cyst in the sphenoid sinus is noted consistent with chronic sinusitis.
There is straightening of the cervical lordosis likely due to muscle spasm.
The C2-3 disc level is unremarkable.
The C3-4 level is unremarkable.
C4-5: There is 2.5-3 mm broad-based right paracentral/right posterior herniation of the protrusion type impinging of the right ventral spinal cord borderline narrowing the central spinal canal. The neural foramina are patent bilaterally. Tiny Tarlov cyst in the lateral foramen is seen.
C5-6: There is a shallow broad-based left posterior protrusion encroaching approximately 2.5-3 mm into the spinal canal with associated posterior spurring/ridging impinging on and mildly flattening the left ventral spinal cord. Tarlov cysts in both neural foramina are seen.
C6-7: Tarlov cysts in both foramina are noted without disc space narrowing, annular fissure, posterior herniation or central spinal stenosis.
C7-T1: There is minimal right posterior bulge without disc space narrowing, annular fissure or focal herniation. Small Tarlov cysts in the foramina are seen.
The T1-2 disc level is unremarkable.
STRAIGHTENING/MILD REVERSAL OF THE CERVICAL LORDOSIS PARTIALLY EFFACING THE ANTERIOR ARACHNOID SPACE FROM LOWER C4 TO LOWER C6 VERTEBRAL BODY LEVELS LIKELY DUE TO MUSCLE SPASM WITHOUT EVIDENCE FOR FRACTURE OR ACUTE BONY ABNORMALITIES. 2. C4-5: THERE IS 2.5-3 MM BROAD-BASED RIGHT PARACENTRAL/RIGHT POSTERIOR HERNIATION OF THE PROTRUSION TYPE IMPINGING OF THE RIGHT VENTRAL SPINAL CORD BORDERLINE NARROWING THE CENTRAL SPINAL CANAL. THE NEURAL FORAMINA ARE PATENT BILATERALLY. TINY TARLOV CYST IN THE LATERAL FORAMEN IS SEEN. 3. C5-6: THERE IS A SHALLOW BROAD-BASED LEFT POSTERIOR PROTRUSION ENCROACHING APPROXIMATELY 2.5-3 MM INTO THE SPINAL CANAL WITH ASSOCIATED POSTERIOR SPURRING/RIDGING IMPINGING ON AND MILDLY FLATTENING THE LEFT VENTRAL SPINAL CORD. TARLOV CYSTS IN BOTH NEURAL FORAMINA ARE SEEN. 4. C6-7: TARLOV CYSTS IN BOTH FORAMINA ARE NOTED WITHOUT DISC SPACE NARROWING, ANNULAR FISSURE, POSTERIOR HERNIATION OR CENTRAL SPINAL STENOSIS. 5. C7-T1: THERE IS MINIMAL RIGHT POSTERIOR BULGE WITHOUT DISC SPACE NARROWING, ANNULAR FISSURE OR FOCAL HERNIATION. SMALL TARLOV CYSTS IN THE FORAMINA ARE SEEN.

what happens to extruded disc material during the four - eight weeks of crate rest? I know that the disc itself scars over and heals but does the body get rid of the material pushing on the spinal cord?

So, we have heard that herniated cervical and spinal disc can reabsorb. Can bulging discs reabsorb as well?

I have two herniated discs (L3-L4), two bulging dics (L1-L2) and spinal stenosis. I have a weird lump right next to my spine where my herniated discs are (my doctor told me it's just fatty tissue, but that lump feels like an electric current in constantly passing through it). My back is constantly in pain. But now it's gotten worse. Tylenols have no effect on me, my left leg and left part of the butt are constantly numb, I have difficulty walking after sitting down for more than 20 minutes and I can't sit for more than 30. I'm seeing my doctor next week, but if the past is any indication, nothing will be done except him telling me to lose some weight (I lost 70 pounds and it still hurts like hell) or see a physical therapist (I've seen plenty...)
How doomed am I?
Sorry, I really needed to vent. Nobody around me takes my pain seriously...

36 y/o Female, around 165 lbs
I’m basically looking for any advice possible
About a year ago I started having some pain in my right shoulder area. Initially, I assumed it was muscle pain, but after about a month of constant pain no matter what I did (massage, ibuprofen, etc) I realized something else was likely going on
My husband and I were in the process of moving across a few states, so I didn’t actually talk to a doctor about it until about six months after the pain started when it was to the point I was in tears, and went to urgent care. They told me to use lidocaine patches and sent me to sports medicine
Sports medicine had me do physical therapy, and ordered an MRI of my cervical spine, which showed a herniated disc with mild spinal stenosis in c5-c6 and a herniated disc with moderate-severe spinal stenosis in c6-c7. The MRI was ordered because I had started to experience a constant painfully cold feeling down my right arm
Sports medicine sent me to a neurosurgeon who was awful, so I’ll skip that guy. But then my doctor (who personally knew how awful the other guy was) sent me to a different neurosurgeon
The new neurosurgeon is great, but said he can’t see any nerve compression on the MRI. He did make a note in my chart that says I have weakness in my right hand, and increased reflex in my right leg. He’s referring me to pain management, but I can’t see them until the end of July. Im so tired of being in pain, it seems hopelessly far away. He also ordered an EMG, but they haven’t scheduled it yet
I should also mention I’ve already had a cervical epidural which was zero help, dry needling (no help) and I’ve been on oral steroids and muscle relaxers. The steroids helped a little bit, but they were short term. I also use lidocaine patches daily, and sometimes I’m probably using it too often, but I’m desperate. I’m also still taking ibuprofen
If this isn’t nerve pain from the discs, what else could it be? And could the MRI have possibly missed a pinched nerve? Things just keep getting worse as time goes by, I’m now have trouble with my thumb and index finger going numb and feeling really stiff. I’m so worried they’re never going to find an answer and I’m just going to live in pain for the rest of my life
Thank you for reading

I fell down the stairs and hit my lower back a couple months back. It’d been a little bit sore for a long time especially in certain positions but not too bad. Now it’s getting very bad and radiating down my hips. I assumed it was muscular since I have a history of hypertonic pelvic floor and hypertension. But now, yoga and stretching causes radiating pain down my legs and my hips with shaking and pins and needles. I’m worried I have a bulging or herniated disc.
This is really defeating since I’m only 20 and I’ve had many procedures and disorders like interstitial cystitis for 6+ years. I was supposed to start more pelvic floor pt this month which includes a lot of stretching for those muscles, and now I’m worried that the stretching to help my IC will make my back pain worse 😫.
If stretching causes that radiating tingling pain on the lower half of my body that would indicate it’s probably a spinal thing correct? What if that makes my IC even WORSE?
I’m so pissed because I’m already in so much medical debt for my disabilities and surgeries that I really don’t want to get yet ANOTHER mri and mobility thing to worry about. I legit fell down the stairs because I was so anemic and dizzy and on painkillers that made me sleepy.
FUCK my life.

I fell down the stairs and hit my lower back a couple months back. It’d been a little bit sore for a long time especially in certain positions but not too bad. Now it’s getting very bad and radiating down my hips. I assumed it was muscular since I have a history of hypertonic pelvic floor and hypertension. But now, yoga and stretching causes radiating pain down my legs and my hips with shaking and pins and needles. I’m worried I have a bulging or herniated disc.
This is really defeating since I’m only 20 and I’ve had many procedures and disorders like interstitial cystitis for years. I was supposed to start pelvic floor pt this month which includes a lot of stretching for those muscles, and now I’m worried that the stretching to help my disability will make my back pain worse 😫.
If stretching causes that radiating tingling pain on the lower half of my body that would indicate it’s probably a spinal thing correct?
I’m so pissed because I’m already in so much medical debt for my disabilities and surgeries that I really don’t want to get yet ANOTHER mri and mobility thing to worry about. I legit fell down the stairs because I was so anemic and dizzy and on painkillers that made me sleepy.
FUCK my life.

What are your thoughts on this - one specialist rushed my appointment and told me to go for an epidural. The other one said go for PT..
EXAM: MRI THORACIC SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST
HISTORY: Back pain.
TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar multisequence imaging of the thoracic spine was performed on a 3 Tesla MRI scanner without use of intravenous contrast.
COMPARISON: None available.
FINDINGS:
~Alignment~: There is mild levocurvature of the thoracic spine.
~Vertebral body heights and marrow~: The vertebral body heights are maintained. There is scattered disc desiccation and endplate irregularity, most pronounced along the T7 inferior endplate.
~Spinal Cord~: Normal.
~Discs~: There is no significant disc bulge, spinal canal, or neural foraminal narrowing.
There are bilateral perineural cysts at T1-T2 measuring 6 mm on the right and 5 mm on the left.
~Soft tissues~: Unremarkable.
IMPRESSION:
Scattered disc desiccation and endplate irregularity, most pronounced along the T7 inferior endplate.
No significant disc bulge, spinal canal, or neural foraminal narrowing.
Bilateral perineural cysts at T1-T2 as detailed.
Mild levocurvature of the thoracic spine.EXAM: MRI CERVICAL SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST
HISTORY: Cervical and thoracic spine pain.
TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar, multisequence MR images of the cervical spine were obtained without intravenous contrast.
COMPARISON: None available.
FINDINGS:
~Alignment~: There is mild straightening of the normal cervical lordosis.
~Vertebral body heights and marrow~: The vertebral body heights are maintained.
~Spinal Cord~: The craniocervical junction is unremarkable. The spinal cord is normal.
~Soft tissues~: Unremarkable.
At C2-3: There is a minimal disc bulge measuring 1 mm without significant spinal canal or neural foraminal narrowing.
At C3-4: There is no significant final canal or neural foraminal narrowing.
At C4-5: There is a minimal right paracentral disc bulge measuring 1 mm without significant spinal canal or neural foraminal narrowing.
At C5-6: There is a left paracentral disc protrusion with annular fissure measuring 2 mm which results in mild spinal canal narrowing with abutment of the left ventral cord and mild left neural foraminal narrowing. No significant right neural foraminal narrowing.
At C6-7: There is a small disc bulge measuring 1 mm without significant spinal canal or neural foraminal narrowing.
At C7-T1: There is a minimal disc bulge measuring 1 mm without significant spinal canal or neural foraminal narrowing. There are small bilateral perineural cysts measuring 3 to 4 mm.
IMPRESSION:
Left paracentral disc protrusion with annular fissure at C5-C6 as detailed results in mild spinal canal narrowing with abutment of the left ventral cord and mild left neural foraminal narrowing.
Small bilateral perineural cysts at C7-T1.
Additional mild degenerative changes as detailed.
Mild straightening of the normal cervical lordosis.

Hi All,
I am not new to this community however haven’t not posted in a while.
I have had a spinal fusion on my L5/S1 & disc replacement on my L4 (all done in same operation) 4 years later I started to feel a pinch that wasn’t really anything to note and 2 years later after countless CT’s/MRI’s I have a osseous fragment (bone spur) that has grown adjacent to my L5 nerve root.
This is what my late MRI concluded:
MRI SPINE INDICATION Previous L5/S1 fusion and L4/5 disc replacement. Sudden onset lower back pain after bending over to do laundry yesterday evening. Reduced power in RLL and decreased perianal sensation. ? cauda equina COMPARISON CT lumbar spine 13/3/24 MRI lumbar spine 20/6/22 TECHNIQUE Non contrast MRI lumbar spine : sagittal T1, T2, DWI, coronal and axial T2 Limited sagittal T2 STIR cervical and thoracic spine FINDINGS Imaging mildly degraded by motion artefact. Normal vertebral body segmentation. Normal vertebral body height and alignment. No suspicious marrow lesion. L4/5 disc replacement and L5/S1 fusion is noted and screws traverse the L5 and S1 vertebral bodies and resultant artefact at this level. A 4mm T2 hypointense focus in the right L5/S1 neural foramen correlates with hyperdense focus on prior CT and likely relates to surgical/osseous material and contacts the right L5 nerve root with possible irritation and moderate right L5/S1 neural foraminal narrowing. No significant disc herniation. No high grade canal or neural foraminal narrowing. The spinal cord terminates normally. No abnormal cord signal. No paraspinal masses. Normal craniocervical junction. Fatty infiltration of the posterior paraspinal musculature L4-S1. Satisfactory limited imaging of the cervical and thoracic spine. Incompletely imaged 5cm right adnexal cyst. CONCLUSION No high grade canal narrowing. No evidence of spinal cord or cauda equina compression. A small 5mm focus of surgical/osseous material in the right L5/S1 neural foramen with possible irritation of the right L5/S1 nerve root appears similar to prior imaging. 5cm right adnexal cyst can be correlated with ultrasound.
I have booked to see a private surgeon who suggested the last time I saw him to remove the bone spur. My pain can go from 10 to bearable yet my foot and leg get pins and needles, as well as an hot jolting pinch on my lower right side.
Your thoughts?
Sam 😊

I just turned 22 and for my birthday I was given 3 herniated discs, and a muscular issue that no work comp dr has diagnosed yet. They just keep fucking injecting my god damn discs and filling them up, it doesn’t matter that I complain that I can feel my tendons in the wrongs spots in my back, it doesn’t matter that they pinch and crush my disc.
Guess I’ll keep taking leave of absence’s and making no fucking money because I literally cannot finish a shift. Fuck me, it’s been 9 months of this already. I don’t know how much longer I can be this fucking useless. My girlfriend swears they don’t have an issue supporting me but I know it’s bothering them. I’ve never been snapped at so many times by them. It’s just bullshit because when I was supporting then due to their own slowness as getting a full time job I didn’t bitch. I worked 60 hours a week until I couldn’t stay awake anymore. Then I got another 40 hour a week job. Idk they’re doing about 30 hours a week now and acting like it’s the end of the world. I’m putting in maybe 20 hours a week. I have to constantly leave early once my spinal cord attacks me. Literally felt like I was getting punched/pushed yesterday. Once my disc would get crushed between my vertebrae my whole body would spaz without my control and make me drop. That’s when I have to leave. I’m just so tired of hearing people bitch about “being sore” yeah me fucking too. The soreness doesn’t compare, it s slow level ache. Your muscles are tired, that shouldn’t be something fucking new. Try dealing with chronic pain, joint/tissue disorders. It’s just so fucking annoying. I’m a sour ass I know, but I’m all out of sweet right now. I love my gf btw, don’t take the work convo as a take on our entire relationship.
I needed to rant. I have work in an hour and I’m about to take off again. Though I feel like shit, for trying to care for myself. For not providing. I feel less than useless, a burden

Hey all,
So a few weeks ago I herniated a disc in my lumbar area. Come to find out after an MRI that I have some other issues as well, namely spinal stenosis from the protruding disc and enlarged facet joints compressing my nerve roots.
I've been sleeping for the last 4 years on an old Posturepedic Fairhope Abbey Plush (which is like a 3-4 on softness). After lots of research while sitting at home due to my injury, I've learned that this is way too soft of a bed for the way I sleep. I sleep the majority of the night on my stomach with a low loft pillow, but sometimes toss and turn onto my side. I have noticed, especially since the injury, that my hips are sinking down too far and thus my spine is definitely out of proper alignment and not getting the support I need. Since back surgery is an eventuality in my future, it is critically important that I find a suitable mattress to help with my recovery.
Thus I began my dive down the wonderful rabbit hole of mattress shopping. Just kidding! This is actually hell. There are so many options and it seems difficult to choose a "perfect" fit. At this point I've deduced that I probably need a mattress around the 6.5-7.5 neighborhood on firmness. I was considering Saatva, Winkbed, and a few others, but keep seeing lots of negative experiences from people saying they lose support and/or sag after a relatively short period of time. Not to mention the staggering amount of astroturfing in this subreddit and general marketing deceptiveness in this industry.
Hoping someone can give me some recommendations based on these criteria:

• 5'8 200lbs
• Primarily stomach sleeper, some side throughout the night
• Typically sleep warm, although this is easily remedied by sleeping with only a sheet and/or turning down the AC
• Not too concerned about budget, I am willing to pay for a quality mattress as long as it lasts a reasonably long period of time
• I do have severe asthma and allergies so would prefer mattresses that are friendly in this regard (no fiberglass or major off-gassing odors)
• I would like something that can be ordered with or is compatible with an adjustable base

I would be eternally grateful if anyone could offer some recommendations or guidance in this regard. Thanks!

I have to do alot more research myself by putting more effort into applying for Social Security disability income. I'm not sure at all if this is something I should be applying for or if it's something I could ever get/or help me. I only ever started looking into it first when I hurt myself at an old job that I got fired from. I was fired for poor attendance from prior of my accident at work and after. I am fine with this due to wanting to quit anyways. I didnt think i was reliable anymore. For the first 6 months nobody knew what was wrong with me because it took that long for me to finally get an MRI that showed multiple bulging discs in my cervical spine, which is my neck. I was diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy, neuritis, mild scoliosis, and my MRI shows many other complications. I'm young, about 20 when this happened. My condition is considered mild but I experience moderate to severe pain on a daily basis. What had happened to cause this is I had lifted heavy boxes and hurt my upper back/neck area somehow. I woke up the next day never the same. In intense pain where my right shoulder & neck area was. I couldn't turn or make my head/neck without intense pain, felt like i had knots & was swollen. I went to urgent care the next day & they gave me a cyclobenzaprine prescription for spraining my Thoracic spine, which is all they found on an x-ray/word of symptoms. When I had first hurt myself I couldn't sleep at all except for about 2-3 hours on & off a night. I was suffering miserably & becoming crazy from lack of sleep & pain so intense all I would do is sit & cry. I was unable and still am unable to sleep on my sides. I feel constant burning pain from any physical activity, I can barely lift 20 lbs & was ordered I cannot lift more than that a couple years ago. My neck condition has gotten slowly worse, I've tried everything so far from my pain management clinic. Ive done physical therapy, ive taken epidural & trigger point injections, (which im in the process of taking more after my post op appointment). I've been suffering for about 4 years now. I'll be 24 this year & I know I'm young & not that debilitated, but I'm not the same & i dont think i ever will be. Everything is so much harder to do & accomplish. Forcing myself to work in this miserable pain that's never ending. Constant migraines, brain fog, confusion, weakness, balance issues. Etc. It's all coming on slowly. My whole body hurts. I had a new mri done a month ago that showed my c5,c6, discs pressing on my spinal cord. My whole cervical spine is becoming compressed & slowly herniating over time. Right now my C3, C4, C5, & C6 are pinched/buldging & the C5,C6 are causing central herniation, which I don't know what that exactly means. All I know is I'm not a pain management clinic, which means they are only there to try and manage my pain. That means in the next 10 years I'm scared that I may need to have some type of surgery or emergency surgery on my cervical spine. I am terrified that this is my future at 24 years old. My life has not been the same since I hurt my neck. I really just want someone to help me and listen to me but I don't know where to start. The paperwork to apply for SSDI is crazy difficult. Where can I start again? My PCP is okay with signing the disability paperwork but I'm not sure about my pain clinic. Some see me as a young person so they think I'm fine. I really wish someone could help me. I'm contemplating human euthanasia when I'm 30 if this gets worse.

Hello guys. I'm 26 and I'm from India. I'll just tell my story of diagnosis first. So I graduated in May 2018 as a chemical engineer and It all started in December 2018. I had weakness in my right leg. After walking for some distance, I'll start dragging my right leg. Also I had severe lower back pain. At that time I was staying away from home, so I kept ignoring these as I did not want to make my parents worried. By February 2019, the symptoms became really worse. I couldn't even stand for 5 minutes straight and I started to have weakness in my right hand too. So I said it to my family and we met our family doctor who also is a neuro consultant. He examined me and asked for an MRI of the spine. He also noticed that my mouth was slightly droopy on one side. So he asked to take an MRI of the brain too. In the brain MRI, there was demyelination and a blood test revealed my Vitamin D level was very low. In spine there was severe disc herniation that it almost cut my spine into two. Even the doctor was shocked that I was able to walk with that. He gave some supplements for Vitamin D and asked to take care of the spine first and then come back to him. At first I was afraid to do surgery on my back. So I tried alternative treatment of physical therapy. It worked somewhat but even after that I dragged my leg( I didn't know it was because of MS back then 🙈) I went to another doctor with the spine MRI and he asked me do surgery immediately. I did it on August 25,2019. By that time I completely forgot that my family doctor asked to come back to him😅. I was supposed to be on rest for 3 months. But 2 and a half months post surgery, I got up from bed really fast one day, I fainted and hit my back really hard on the ground. Totally unrelated but I just remembered to go back to the doctor because of this. I went back to him after 3 months completed. He didn't ask me to take an MRI. But I really wanted to see my spine's condition. So I insisted and he asked to take an MRI of spine. In the MRI results, there was a lesion in spine.. he got shocked and asked to do MRI of brain and there were new active lesions. And thus I was diagnosed with MS. but I didn't do spinal tap back then. In March 2020, I decided to ask for another doctor's opinion and the other doctor asked to do spinal tap. And they did it by injecting needle on the fresh scar in my back🥶 even thinking about it gives me chills 🥶 And the results can positive and my MS was confirmed! I was on Tecfidera. But that didn't work out. I'm on Rituximab right now and it seems to be going well. I did my MBA degree after my diagnosis and currently I'm working a full time office job.
After diagnosis I isolated myself from my friends because I was hesitant to tell them and felt like they wouldn't understand me. I felt lonely. That's why I'm joining these MS support groups and starting to vent out and am trying to make new friends here 😅 Sorry for the long post. So yeah if you have read through all my shit and still want to make friends with me, I'm here 😭😂