Ok, I'm back (sort-of)
Lets look at the MRI report in some more detail.
We already discussed the first paragraph, so we'll skip to the next.
C0-C1: Here he is describing a Chiari Malformation, which by his description is very mild. he does describe the "absence of the normal membranous and ligamentous anatomy at the cervicooccipital junction". This basically means that the structures which hold the skull to the cervical spine seem to be missing (or are very difficulty to see). In theory, this increases the risk of the skull becoming disloged from the cerivcal spine if struck with enough force. (this is theoretical, otherwise your head would fall off if you sneezed)
C1-C2: Very complicated way of saying this level is normal.
C2-C3: There is some hypertrophy (overgrowth) of the area where the bones meet in the back, which is suggestive of arthritis. otherwise it is normal.
C3-C4: The disk is slightly pushed backwards, which may not have any real clinical significance. There is hypertrophy (overgrowth) of the tissue/structures around the small holes where the nerve roots come out of the spine. He does not suggest that it is actually pressing on the nerve roots, which can be a cause of pain, numbness or weakness.
C4-C5:Again, normal with the same narrowing. Again he does not mention the nerves in this description.
C5-C6: Same as above.
C6-C7: Same as above.
C7-T3: This area is normal.
In the conclusion, he states that there is no evidence of significant neural effacement, which basically means that the nerves are not being crushed by the overgrowth of tissue.
More in the next post...
