A radiology report is written by one doctor for another doctor. It is not written for you, and it can be frightening to read. Here is what the words actually mean.
Read this first: an abnormal scan is normal
This is the single most important thing to understand before you read any further. Studies that scan people with no pain at all find disc degeneration, bulges and tears in a very large share of them, and the proportion climbs steadily with age. Findings like these are extremely common in people whose backs feel completely fine.
So a report listing several alarming-sounding findings does not tell you why you hurt. It tells you what your spine looks like. Those are different questions, and the second one is answered by examination — by matching what the scan shows to where your pain actually is and what makes it worse.
The scan does not hurt. You do. The job is to work out which finding, if any, explains your symptoms.
Words about discs
Disc bulge vs herniation
The words are not interchangeable, and the difference matters.
Annular tear
A tear in the outer wall of a disc — and why ‘tear’ sounds worse than it is.
Disc desiccation
The disc has dried out. Almost everyone past thirty has some.
Degenerative disc disease
Not really a disease, despite the name.
Words about narrowing
Foraminal narrowing
The exit hole for a nerve is tighter than it was.
What ‘foraminal’ means
And how to pronounce it.
Spinal canal stenosis
Narrowing of the main canal.
Mild, moderate, severe
What the grading actually implies.
Words about joints and bone
Facet arthropathy
Arthritis in the small spinal joints.
Modic changes
Signal changes in the bone next to a disc.
Spondylosis and spondylolisthesis
Two similar words, two different things.
Schmorl’s node
A disc pressing into the bone above or below.
Reading the levels
L4-L5, L5-S1 and the rest
How spinal levels are named and what each one supplies.
Vertebrogenic pain
Pain coming from the vertebral endplate itself.
Bring your scan to us
If you have a report you do not understand, bring it in — on disc, on a portal login, or as a paper copy. We would far rather read the scan you already have than order another one. Call (314) 310-5577 or request an appointment.
Hurt in an accident? Start here.
You do not need a lawyer, a police report or a referral to be seen. Bring your symptoms and we will work out the rest.
Or text (314) 886-5902 · Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.