Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Degenerative Disc Disease of Cervical Spine in Symptomatic Patients.

BACKGROUND: The pathophysiological findings demonstrated in cervical spine in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can explain only partly the occurrence of neck and shoulder pain. This study aims to evaluate the occurrence of cervical degenerative disc pathologies in symptomatic patient with neck pain and radiculopathy.

METHODS: The study was a retrospective and institutional record based descriptive study carried out for the duration of 3yrs in a well-equipped imaging center. Only MRI performed for neck pain with or without radiculopathy with complete clinical form was included in the study. MRI findings were entered in SPSS spread sheet and analyzed using SPSS 19.0.

RESULTS: A total of 750 MRI was reviewed among which 571(76.13%) had cervical degenerative disc pathology. Disc degeneration and disc bulge was the most common finding, followed by neural foramina stenosis, disc herniation and myelopathic changes. Disc degeneration and disc bulge was seen more frequently in patients older than 40 years than those less than 40 years. Disc herniation was rare in extremes of age and noted predominantly in productive population between 3 rd and 6 th decade of life.

CONCLUSIONS: Disc degeneration and global disc bulge were predominant findings in symptomatic patients increasing with the age. Disc herniation and neural foraminal stenosis were common changes seen associated with neck pain with or without radiculopathy and were predominant in productive age group.