What does this MRI mean?

Highlight each term and Google it.

Then ask your doctor.

@phyllis1234, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.

I don't know about you, but my personal skills in reading radiologic reports are not sky high. So, reading either radiologic reports or pathologic reports without the interpretation and perspective of a healthcare provider is not the best activity for me. I just get confused and can feel concerned if something sounds potentially unfavorable.

I think your best bet is to place a phone call to your doctor's office and ask someone to call you to offer an interpretation at their earliest convenience, or enter a question into your portal with your MRI results, if your portal offers this function. If not, simply send a portal message referencing the MRI results.

You do deserve a professional's interpretation, yet in lay terms, about what this report means and what it means for your life.

Did you have any concerns about your spine going into this MRI?

Posterior disc bulge. The disc between the lumbar disc L4 and L5 has flattened and moved into the space where the nerves exit, probably pressing on those nerves and causing pain. The central canal is also narrowed by the presence of the bulging disc but mostly because of the reduction of space caused by the joint narrowing. The disc below has also flattened and is causing a reduction of space for the exiting nerves at both sides of the spine.
You may know that we have shock absorbers between the vertebral bone of the spine. Over time, or with intense pressure the outer layer of this shock absorbing disc becomes weakened and doesn't maintain its shape.

Also keep in mind that an MRI cannot show pain.
My Dr. likes to say "We treat patients not MRI's"
It is a diagnostic tool to help narrow the causes.
2 people can have the same looking MRI and experience completely different pain

MRI=Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Non-Invasive; when done, allows practitioner to perform electronic “slices” of your area scanned with incredible 3-D detail. Allows Surgeon to precisely target the area to be treated.

Your MRI is describing common degenerative changes in the lower spine specifically a posterior disc bulge (the cushion between the bones pushing slightly backward) and Facet Joint Arthropathy (arthritis of the small joints in the spine) at the L4–L5 and L5–S1 levels which together are causing some narrowing of the spaces where the nerves pass (the lateral recess and neural foramina) and mild narrowing of the central spinal canal, meaning there’s less room for the nerves and spinal cord, which can lead to symptoms like lower back pain, stiffness, or nerve-related issues such as leg pain, tingling, or burning, but importantly these findings are very common and often manageable without surgery depending on how well they match your actual symptoms and how you respond to treatments like physical therapy, medications, or injections.

without knowing a bunch of other things, it is impossible to know much. You didn't write the degree/intensity of each, or a prior reading for comparison. Please take this to an orthopedic surgeon or a pain management doctor who can review the complete "read" along with the visual images. The surgeon does a simple xray in their office to further determine where you are in the process. Depending on your age, deterioration, and comparisons, you are probably headed to surgery. I was. But it took years to get to "moderate" in the decline. Other factors are missing from this "extracted" read.