Need help interpreting my MRI results

My mom just had her lumbar MRI done. We’re waiting to sit down with the neurologist, but in the meantime, can anyone give me a quick breakdown of what this actually means:

Axial and sagittal views of the lumbosacral spinal canal show normal vertebral body height without pathological signals. The thoracolumbar spinal cord shows physiological signal intensity. Disc material shows signs of desiccation, which is expected given her age. At the L4/L5 segment, there is a mild dorsal circular disc bulging. At the L5/S1 segment—which is a lower disc—there is minimal dorsocentral prominence consistent with an incipient protrusion. The bony spinal canal is of normal dimensions. No signs of stenosis in the intervertebral foramina, except at the L5/S1 left side, which appears narrower. Mild osteoarthritic changes in the small joints with facet hyperplasia. Paraspinal musculature shows physiological signal.

From what I can gather, there’s no mention of a "classic" herniated disc here—which is strange, because every specialist she’s seen so far has been insisting on one. She ended up getting this MRI specifically to figure out if surgery is even a logical next step.

Thanks a lot!

rowdylynx38 said:My mom just got her Microsoft spine MRI done. We’re waiting to sit down with the neurologist, but can anyone here give me a quick breakdown of what this actually means?

On the axial and sagittal views through the lumbosacral spinal canal, the vertebral bodies show normal height without pathological signals. The thoracolumbar spinal cord shows physiological signal. Disc material shows signs of desiccation, which is expected given her age. In the Level 4 / Level 5 segment, there is a mild dorsal circular disc prominence, essentially a bulge. In the Level 5 / Stage 1 segment, which is the lower disc, there is minimal dorsocentral prominence in the form of an incipient protrusion. The bony spinal canal is of normal dimensions. The intervertebral foramina show no signs of stenosis, except in the left Level 5 / Stage 1 segment, which looks narrower. There are mild osteoarthritic changes in the small joints along with facet hyperplasia. The paraspinal musculature shows physiological signal.

From what I can gather, there’s absolutely no mention of a "classic" herniated disc—which is what every specialist has been telling my mom until now. She basically ended up getting this MRI just to figure out if surgery is even worth considering at this point.

Thanks a ton!

Nah, your mom doesn't have a herniated disc. That's probably why they ordered the MRI in the first place. Honestly, everything described here is just degenerative stuff that almost everyone deals with as they get older. There isn't any spinal canal stenosis, so there's really nothing to worry about...👍 physical therapy, daily exercises for those core and back muscles.