Coping with Spinal stenosis

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spine canal through which nerves travel. It’s more common in the lower (lumbar) region than in the upper region (cervical) of the spine.

Stenosis usually affects people over fifty or sixty and may evidenced by numbness and pain in the neck, back and legs.

Spinal stenosis can be congenital, meaning that you were born with it, or it can be a result of the spinal canal narrowing as you get older.

As the spinal canal narrows, pressure applies to the nerve roots, and pain or numbness may occur. 

Symptoms of spinal stenosis

The degree, location and extent of spinal stenosis depends on which roots are affected by the narrowing of the spinal channel.

Symptoms may include pain in the back, buttocks, and legs and the pain may get worse with walking or standing.  Common symptoms include:

• Pain in the legs
  Pain in the neck and shoulders
  Pain the lower back
  Loss of balance
  Loss of bowel control

In each case, the nerves affecting that are have been compressed.  Possible the most disturbing is the loss of bowel movement and if this occurs, you should visit your surgeon right away.

Causes of spinal stenosis

Two primary causes of spinal stenosis are herniated disks and bone spurs cause by aging.

Our spines begin to degenerate once we’re over thirty.  When that occurs, the disks between our vertebra weaken and in some cases may burst out into the spinal canal, pressing against nerve roots.

As we age, osteoarthritis may occur in which case the cartilage between the vertebrae get sworn down resulting in bone rubbing against bone.  When this happens, bone spurs may grow which push out into the spinal canal against the nerve roots.

Dealing with spinal stenosis

Pain relievers can mitigate the pain from spinal stenosis, but if the pain gets worse or numbness occurs, you need to see a doctor.

Surgery for spinal stenosis addresses the narrow area in an attempt to widen the area where the nerves are compressed.  However, since the nerves have been damaged, there’s no guarantee that they will recover, and pain may still continue to a lesser degree.