Lumbar spine problem cannot resolve

@mavic0406
I haven’t really had an accident but was rear ended in a car which caused whiplash. I was born with a congenitally narrow spinal canal. I did not have all doctors point this out to me (only the surgeons did) and it was not mentioned in any of my many MRIs since 2017. I have worked at a desk job and sitting/working on a computer for 10-12 hours a day for over 30 years has put a lot of pressure on my cervical and lumbar spine.

A neurologist can test your central/peripheral nervous system signals and strength which can help identify radiculopathy and pinched nerves that can cause symptoms. It is good to get a baseline for upper/lower limbs. Mine showed cervical and lumbar radiculopathy which tied to my C5C6 and L4-S1 disc/spinal cord/nerve root issues.

@dlydailyhope Thank you so much, for your very informative comments it helped me a lot to find which specialist is good to visit for my condition, 🙏

I can only speak from my own experiences.
It sounds good that you are maintaining disc height. Learn some exercises to strengthen your muscles around the disc yo maintain as long as possible. The facet arthropathy I was told is caused by osteoarthritis. It will help prevent injury if you are careful and not twist side to side. When standing stay on a level surface. Everytime I twist or stand on a bank my back goes out. Stay strong.

Just wanted to say Hello to everyone! I have been dealing with degenerative disc disease for a while. I had herniated disc, and the lab work came back saying it should belong to someone at least 65, I was 30. Since then Benn diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, chronic fatigue, bone spurs, osteoarthritis and tons of scar tissue. During my first back surgery, doctor sawed 2 sets of vertebra apart and lifted sciatica up and over so he could drill opening. I have a lot of metal, dorsal spinal column stimulator, and a little titanium fellow I believe is called vertiflex. I think moderate exercises helps me the most. I'm glad I'm not alone anymore with the dealings of pain!

@angie1961 - good morning and thanks for sharing your story. I love your upbeat attitude as I firmly believe being upbeat is an important part of both surgery recovery and long term pain management.

For most spine patients - it’s unrealistic to expect a “no pain” future. Less pain and managed pain and sometimes periodic no-pain are more likely. Learning to manage (as you have) rather than feeling unhappy because there is some lingering pain is generally the way forward.

Glad you’re online with Mayo Connect. You’re amongst friends, here.

Hi. I've been suffering with lumbar spine problems for almost 35 years. They started when I was 21.

I looked at your radiology report. I'm not a doctor, just a patient with decades of reading radiology reports. I can only give you my opinion based on experience.

So, what I see is early degenerative changes consistent with osteoarthritis. No nerve involvement. No inflammatory changes. Ligaments are still in good shape.

My question for you is how old are you?

You mentioned you are autoimmune. You also said that the pain moves around to different areas. Do you have psoriasis? Anyone in the family autoimmune?

Here are my thoughts. I'm also autoimmune. It started with my thyroid, mild scalp psoriasis, and ligament inflammation in my late teens. There is a lot of autoimmunity on my mom's side of my family.

When my back problems started, an MRI scan would probably have looked similar to yours. I had bouts of pain but always had leg pain from nerve involvement.

Three surgeries, disability and many years later I was diagnosed with an autoimmune type of arthritis: psoriatic arthritis with axial involvement or peripheral AND axial spondylitis.

Autoimmune diseases typically come in pairs, trios, quartets, etc. It isn't super common to have just ONE autoimmune disease, especially if there is a family history. New diseases tend to show up as we age if we already have one at an early age. Not always, but often.

You could very well be in what's called a sub-clinical stage of an autoimmune type of arthritis. The MRI isn't showing a lot because you weren't having a flare which meant there was no inflammation.

If you feel like it, look up axial spondylitis or ankylosing spondylitis. Also psoriatic arthritis. But don't scare yourself with what you might read. There are lots of treatments and if started young, can really help slow down any damage to your spine and other joints. And I've seen people in their 20s and 30s go into remission for years because treatment gets started early.

You'll need to talk to a rheumatologist for testing and diagnosis. I hope this helps.