Foraminal narrowing
Read Your Scan Editorial Team·Last updated
Written from published radiology references and reviewed for plain language. Not written or signed by a physician, and not a diagnosis. How we write these pages →
In plain language
Narrowing of the small openings where nerves leave the spine. It can be mild to severe, and your doctor relates it to any arm symptoms.
Where you’ll see this
This wording turns up on Cervical Spine MRI reports — MRI imaging of the spine. A cervical (neck) MRI shows the seven neck vertebrae, the discs between them, the spinal cord as it passes through, and the nerves that travel to the shoulders and arms. Doctors order it for neck pain, arm numbness or tingling, weakness, or after an injury. As with the low back, many findings it describes are common age-related changes seen in people without symptoms, so the report is read together with how you feel.
Questions worth asking your doctor
- Do the MRI findings match where I feel neck or arm symptoms?
- Are these changes typical for my age, or does anything stand out?
- What non-surgical approaches, like physical therapy, might help?
- Are there symptoms that would mean I should be seen more urgently?
- Do I need any follow-up imaging, and when?
Other words on the same report
Where this word comes up
See this word on your own scan
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