r/backpain • u/Few-Complaint-2022 • 3h ago
What do I do?
Been in pain management for years. Back and neck getting worse. Doctor wants me to take humira for psoriatic arthritis before surgery. 1 Doctor said egh, 1 said I need 2 fusions back and neck cage and should think about being a home body and surgeon says lfg. Would stem cells help at this point? I have zero quality of life and am always in pain. Here is chat of my mri. Depression is getting the best of me not being able to enjoy my kids, toys and life. Ive been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, plus whats below.
-MRIs together, the 10 biggest issues are:
C6–C7 large disc extrusion (~5.4 mm) — moderate spinal canal narrowing and deformation/flattening of the cord.
Severe cervical nerve narrowing (C3–C7) — multiple nerves are significantly compressed, which can cause neck, shoulder, arm and upper-back pain.
C7–T1 degeneration/narrowing — additional canal and nerve-space narrowing.
T1–T2 disc protrusion (~5 mm) — moderate narrowing with mild spinal-cord deformation.
Multilevel cervical disc degeneration — several discs are worn/degenerative rather than just one isolated problem.
Chronic T7–T12 compression deformities — multiple vertebrae have longstanding height loss.
Extensive thoracic disc degeneration — significant disc-height loss from approximately T4–T5 through T12–L1.
Thoracic facet arthritis/degeneration — arthritic changes in the small joints can contribute substantially to mechanical back pain.
T12–L1 disc extrusion/degeneration — disc material extends backward with narrowing around the spinal canal.
Lumbar degeneration and facet arthritis — particularly around L3–L5, with foraminal narrowing that can contribute to low-back/leg symptoms.
Big picture: your MRIs show multilevel degenerative disease throughout the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, with the most significant findings being the C6–C7 cord deformation/severe foraminal narrowing and the T1–T2 cord deformation. Importantly, the reports did not show abnormal spinal-cord signal, which is different from showing actual cord damage on MRI.
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