lumbar spondylolisthesis

This patient came in with severe low back pain and had multiple diagnoses which may be the problem. One diagnoses which I see from time to time was spondylolisthesis. An article by Mary Rodts, DNP, CNP, ONC, FAAN goes in detail on this condition, which was found on the web at http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article114.html. This is a condition where one vertebra slips over another. This is found most frequently in lumbar area and is graded by severity on how far it is slipped forward. The grades go from least severe (grade 1) to most severe (grade 5). This patient had a grade 2 almost grade 3 diagnoses which means 50 to 70 percent of the vertebral body has slipped forward. This is a sagittal T2 image of the lumbar spine.

Thoracic Stenosis

Thoracic stenosis is a condition where the spinal nerves or spinal cord is compressed in that region. I recently scanned a patient with back pain and abnormal sensations in their lower extremities. This was an elderly patient which we frequently get orders for to rule compression fracture or spinal stenosis. This patient had a T7-T8 paracentral disc protusion that mildly flattened the ventral aspect on the spinal cord on the right. Disc buldges can cause problems a little easier in the thoracic region due to the naturally narrower spinal canal of the thoracic. I see this in other regions where a patient has a congenital narrower spinal canal such as in cervical region, it immediately is problematic by touching the cord. If that same patient had more room in the canal it may not be as severe.