How many times has a patient with chronic CES thought they had a relapse into acute cauda equina syndrome? A Lot- and many times during these flare-ups, it's just that, an increase of symptoms of chronic CES for unknown reasons with no imaging to justify the symptoms.
There are of course a few instances where a patient does relapse and requires additional treatment, and it's not as rare as we would like to see. But seeing an MRI report that says anything other than normal is frightening, and hearing terms from doctors that make no sense leaves a communication gap and can lead to misunderstanding of what is going on in their body.
To improve communication and understanding between doctors and their patients, Dr. Jason Hwang put together a tutorial on MRI radiology and CES to both decrease patient anxiety and increase understanding and better communication between doctor and patient.