Spinal Stenosis Treatment

Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal narrows and places pressure on the spinal cord. It most commonly occurs in the lumbar spine and cervical spine although it can occur anywhere in the back. Seventy-five percent of the diagnosed cases occur in the lumbar spine while 25% of patients are diagnosed with both lumbar and cervical stenosis.

Spinal stenosis can be caused by several different factors. They include genetics, instability of the spine, trauma, aging, arthritis, spinal tumors, fluorosis, and spondylolisthesis.

• Genetics
• Instability of the spine
• Trauma
• Aging - As you age, you can develop osteoarthritis, disc degeneration, and thickened ligaments can all cause spinal problems. Facet joints can degenerate and bone spurs can develop and narrow the spinal column space.
• Arthritis
• Spinal tumorrs - If abnormal tumors form within the spinal canal, they can narrow the spinal canal.
• Fluorosis - Fluorosis is an excessive amount of flouride in the body. It can cause calcified spinal ligaments, softened bones, and degenerative conditions like spinal stenosis.
• Spondylolisthesis 
• Paget's disease - Paget's disease is a bone disease in older adults. Suspected genetic in origin, when new bone is formed, it is enlarged, brittle, and not as dense as normal bone. It it occurs in the spine, it can narrow the spinal canal.
• Achondroplasia - A gentic form of dwarfwism, the fetal development of bone is slower than normal. People with this condition have narrow spinal canals.
• Spinal injuries - Displaced bone or swelling in adjacent tissues from spinal injuries can cause the spinal canal to narrow and put pressure on the nerves.
• Ankylosing Spondylitis - Most often striking men in their teens and early twenities, this is a form of arthritis in which the joints of the spine and sacroilliac joint become inflamed and stiff.

Symptoms may include:

• Pain
• Difficulty walking
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Hot or cold sensations in the legs
• Clumsiness
• Loss of bladder or bowel control

Unfortunately, like most back problems, there is no cure. Essentially, there are basically four types of non-invasive treatment for spinal stenosis: medication, exercise, activity modification, and epidural injections.

In addition to over-the-counter pain medications, antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, and opiods are used to treat the pain of spinal stenosis. Unfortunately, some treatments for pain can have negative side-effects. For instance, if you take too many over-the-counter pain medications, they can cause kidney and liver problems. With opiods, your body can become physically dependent over time and higher and higher amounts are needed to treat the pain. Even non-medication pain treatments can have side-effects. Epidural injections can can cause water retention, weight gain, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar levels in diabetics.

When treating spinal stenosis, although medications and epidural injections can help with the pain, unfortunately, they only mask the symptoms. Medication does not treat the underlying cause of spinal stenosis. Muscle imbalances, muscle instability, and weak core muscles can cause your pelvis to move out of place and create an abnormalities of the spine. Consequently, physical therapy and exercise are important in treating spinal stenosis.

Unless you're experiencing chronic, severe pain, bowel or bladder incontinence, or muscle weakness, surgery should be a last resort.