Spine

Imaging-confirmed findings. No back surgery. Age 60.

By Jonas Virgil Monos | Exception Nation LLC
Published: June 20, 2026 | Last updated: June 20, 2026

This page documents what the imaging shows. It does not interpret why my body continues to perform under these findings. It does not offer that performance as evidence of what any other body can or should do. It is a record. The imaging is mine. The output is mine. The gap between those two facts is in the record. What any reader does with that gap is between them and their physician.

Editorial note: All imaging studies referenced on this page are from University Health, San Antonio, TX — a verified academic medical center. Radiologist names are partially redacted to last initial for privacy. Study types, dates, and findings are reproduced accurately from the imaging record. This page documents personal medical history only. It is not medical advice.

Imaging on Record

Five studies are on file at University Health, 4502 Medical Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229 (UT Health San Antonio affiliated), conducted between 2020 and 2024. Additional studies conducted at outside facilities are on file. Findings are consistent with this record.

Lumbar spine X-ray, November 2024. University Health, San Antonio. Scoliotic curvature and multilevel degenerative changes. Personal medical record.

What the Imaging Shows

I have sigmoid thoracolumbar scoliosis. The curve is not mild. The December 2020 X-ray confirmed: 44-degree dextrocurvature T5–T11, 31-degree levocurvature T11–L4. A double-curve, S-shaped spine spanning the full thoracolumbar junction. The same curvature was noted on every subsequent study, including a chest X-ray in December 2023 which independently noted rightward scoliotic curvature of the thoracic spine.

Degenerative disc disease is present at the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar levels. It is multilevel across all three regions. The December 2020 X-ray documented diffuse multilevel disc height loss, endplate hypertrophy, and facet arthropathy most pronounced at T10–T11 and L2–L3. The August 2022 lumbar X-ray confirmed disc space narrowing at essentially all lumbar levels with vacuum phenomena at L3–L4 and L5–S1.

The cervical findings are confirmed by the March 2022 X-ray: grade 1 anterior listhesis of C3 on C4 and C4 on C5, disc height reduction at C6 (25%) and C7 (50%), severe degenerative changes at C5–C6, C6–C7, and C7–T1. The same read confirmed an unchanged age-indeterminate compression deformity of C7. The radiologist cannot date it. No injury event is on file. The deformity exists; its origin does not appear in my record.

The lumbar MRI dated December 9, 2024 documents the following findings: left convex rotational scoliosis with grade 1 left lateral listhesis of L3 on L4. Retrolisthesis at L1–L2 and L2–L3. Anterolisthesis L5–S1. Multilevel disc desiccation and osteophytosis. At L4–L5: moderate left-sided neural foraminal stenosis with abutment of the exiting left L4 nerve root, plus left lateral recess narrowing encroaching on the descending left L5 nerve root. At L5–S1: moderate-to-severe left neural foraminal stenosis with abutment of the exiting left L5 nerve root, and mild left lateral recess stenosis encroaching on the descending left S1 nerve root.

The CT dated December 28, 2024 confirmed and extended the MRI findings. At L4–L5: osteophytes and facet arthropathy severely narrow the left foramen. At L5–S1: disc/osteophyte complex combined with facet arthropathy severely narrows the left foramen. The CT summary: up to severe foraminal stenosis, left-predominant.

No surgical intervention on the spine has ever been performed. None is currently scheduled.

The Sciatica

The bilateral sciatica radiates to both feet. It is not episodic. It does not come and go with activity or rest. It is present continuously — every day, both sides, into both feet. My read on the sciatica is that it follows directly from what the imaging shows — the left L4, L5, and S1 nerve roots abutted and encroached upon at multiple levels, confirmed on both MRI and CT. I am describing my understanding of my own record, not a universal clinical principle.

I am describing what I feel because it is part of the record. The sensation is bilateral. It is constant. It has not prevented the output documented below. I am not suggesting that outcome transfers. I am documenting that it is mine.

The SSDI Question:

The imaging on file — multilevel cervical degenerative disease with grade 1 anterolisthesis, severe lumbar foraminal stenosis with confirmed nerve root abutment at L4–L5 and L5–S1, bilateral sciatica radiating to both feet, and diffuse thoracic spondylosis — reflects a presentation that, based on my own lay research into SSA criteria, I understand could meet the threshold for Social Security Disability Insurance consideration. I have never filed. That is a choice, not an oversight. No physician has formally assessed or documented my SSDI eligibility. I am noting this because it is part of how I understand my own record — not as a clinical finding.

What My Body Is Doing Under This Load

Important: The output below is a personal record only. It is not a training recommendation. Do not attempt to replicate any of the following without guidance from a licensed physician who has reviewed your imaging and personal history. These numbers describe one body under one set of documented conditions. They do not describe yours.

At 60 years old, my documented training output includes the following.

I shrug 550 pounds. The shrug is the most directly spine-loaded lift in this record. The bar rests on my hands with the full load transferred through my traps, across a spine with a 44-degree primary scoliotic curve, multilevel degenerative disc disease, and confirmed foraminal stenosis at multiple lumbar levels. There is no squat rack to share the load. There is no hip hinge to distribute it. The 550 pounds is axially loaded through the thoracolumbar spine on every rep. I state this plainly because the imaging above needs to be read in full before this number means anything.

My leg press is 1,628 pounds — 1,510 pounds in plates plus 118 pounds of sled weight per manufacturer specification. The plate weight alone is not the number. The full system weight is 1,628 pounds.

On the leg press sled, I perform calf raises — toe raises starting with the sled only (118 lb) and pyramiding up through ten 45-pound plates per side, reaching 1,018 pounds total at the peak. I complete 15 reps per set throughout the pyramid.

My single-arm lat pull is 270 pounds per side. My one-arm dumbbell press is 125 pounds, for five reps.

I am stronger at 60 than I was at 38. I am considerably stronger than I was in my 20s. This is documented in the training record. It is not estimated.

The knee record — right medial meniscectomy 1980, bone-on-bone for 46 years — is documented separately at /knees. The bloodwork context — verified natural, no TRT, no HGH, no PEDs — is at /natural.

What This Site Is — and Is Not

Exception Nation is a documentation site. The medical record is the primary source. The physical output is secondary documentation. The relationship between the two is observable, not instructional.

Nothing on this page is a training recommendation. Nothing here implies that a body with similar findings should produce similar output, or attempt to. I am not presenting this record as a template, a Chronicle, or a recommendation. I am presenting my record as a record.

Documented by Jonas Virgil Monos. Published by Exception Nation LLC. Medical disclaimer.

This is a personal record. It is not medical advice. Decisions about your spine belong between you and a licensed physician you trust.

Free PDF — How These Knees Are Still Under Load
Three decisions I made training on bone-on-bone knees since 1980. Personal record. No program. No prescription.
exceptionnation.com/knees

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