Spinal Stenosis Specialist

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a condition that causes the narrowing of spaces within the spine. When this occurs, it can cause pressure on the spinal cord and nerves resulting in pain and discomfort. Most of the time spinal stenosis appears in the low back but the neck can be susceptible to spinal stenosis as well. In most cases, the narrowing of the spine associated with stenosis will pinch the nerve roots. With the nerve pinched it can cause a variety of symptoms including leg and arm pain, numbness, tingling, or even weakness in the extremities.

What causes spinal stenosis?

In most cases, spinal stenosis is the result of old injuries but it can also be the caused by congenital conditions or even aging. This causes the body’s tough connective tissues between the bones in the spine known as ligaments to thicken up. Small growths known as spurs can develop on the bones and directly into the spinal canal. Deterioration of the cushioned discs between the vertebrae begins to affect the facet joints, which can also break down. All of these factors can cause the spaces in the spine to narrow, resulting in spinal stenosis.

What is treatment like?

First, an onsite X-ray is done. The X-rays will show whether an underlying condition of your spinal structures is resulting in spinal stenosis. Once the source of the stenosis is located, a treatment plan is put together to alleviate your symptoms.

Typical lumbar stenosis treatments include one or a combination of the following:

• Activity modification. Patients are usually more comfortable when flexed forward. For example, many patients can ease leg pain and discomfort when walking by leaning forward on a cane, walker or shopping cart.
• Exercise. This treatment will be recommended as part of treatment for most people with lumbar spinal stenosis. A targeted program of spinal stenosis exercises with guidance from a physical therapist or doctor can prevent further debilitation arising from inactivity. Modifications to exercises can be made to ensure patient comfort. For example, stationary biking can be a beneficial treatment option because patients are sitting and positioned in a flexed-forward position while exercising.
• Spinal manipulation and physical therapy are the first step in treatment. Fortunately, many people successfully manage the symptoms of spinal stenosis with the non-surgical therapies. For others, symptoms may become disabling and interventional pain management and or surgery may be considered. However, most of the patients we've seen over 25 years respond to therapy and injections and not require surgery.