Can someone explain what this means? (MRI Report paragraph)?

Question

"There are reactive changes to the inferior endplate of the vertebral body"

What exactly does that phrase mean?

It is only a part of my MRI report.....

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Answer 1

You MUST ask the physician who ask for the report.

Your health is much too important to leave to the friendly amateurs of YA; besides, you need to know exactly what it means with regard to YOU.

Doctors are notoriously bad at volunteering information, so you have to ask them, but once you get into their thick heads that you really want information and are capable of understanding it, in my experience they are very helpful.

Answer 2

First of all, some anatomy:

http://www.back.com/images/4_18.jpg

The cortical rims in this picture is where the endplates are.  Inferior is the underneath part.

Reactive changes... sounds non-specific.  Could be from arthritis, inflammation, injury - I'm not sure.  Anyway, that report says that there is something showing up in that part of your vertebral spine.

The clinical significance of that is something that you can discuss with your doctor.  Many times, things that show up on  studies don't translate into clinical problems.  An orthopedic surgoen could tell you whether that finding is a problem or not.