Gait abnormality The spinal cord has grossly normal signal characteristics and overall morphology. There is no compromise of the spinal cord. The vertebral bodies are appropriate in overall height. There is straightening with loss of normal thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis. There are degenerative changes in the cervical spine from C3-C4 to C6-C7 with mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis related to small disc osteophyte complexes and ligamentum flavum thickening. There are also multilevel degenerative changes in the lumbar spine including disc extrusion at the L4-L5 level which appears to cause high-grade spinal canal stenosis and cauda equina nerve root compression.
This is a limited exam specific for the exclusion of cord compression only and does not exclude more subtle lesions such as intrinsic cord abnormalities. No cord compression is identified. There is however large disc extrusion at the L4-L5 level which appears to cause high-grade spinal canal stenosis and mass effect on the cauda equina nerve roots.Due to the screening nature of this protocol details are not as evident on imaging as dedicated protocols of the spine.