What is spinal stenosis?
The foramen within your spine, which are the openings that nerves run through, can become too narrow for the nerves within them. It can also happen in the spinal canal, which places pressure on your spinal cord. The pressure on the nerves can cause widespread discomfort depending on where the nerves travel, leading to a condition called spinal stenosis.
Spinal stenosis doesn’t just happen at random. It develops as the result of other conditions that either affect the structure of your bones or ligaments within the spine. You might get spinal stenosis from:
- Spinal osteoarthritis
- Bone spurs
- Degenerative disc disease
- Ligament thickening
- A deformity of the spine
- Cysts or tumors growing in or near the spine
Conditions like these are often a consequence of aging, so spinal stenosis is more common among older populations.
What are the symptoms of spinal stenosis?
Pain and other spinal stenosis symptoms usually start mild and worsen as the underlying condition causing them runs its course. The specific symptoms you develop often depend on the location of the spinal stenosis along your spine. With any type, symptoms affect regions of your body below the level of the affected area. Possible symptoms include:
- Neck pain (for cervical spinal stenosis)
- Low back pain (for lumbar spinal stenosis)
- Numbness or tingling in your limbs (neuropathy)
- Limb weakness or discoordination
- Balance problems
- Legs that feel heavy or cramp easily (lumbar spinal stenosis)
- Loss of bladder or bowel function (in severe cases only)
Symptoms can lessen or worsen according to specific movements, like bending forward or standing up. Being as specific as possible when describing them can help lead to a quick and accurate diagnosis, though imaging tests might be required to confirm it.
Which treatments can relieve spinal stenosis symptoms?
Interventional Pain Consultants specializes in treating spinal stenosis, among other conditions that originate in the spine and cause pain. The following available treatment options can relieve the pain of spinal stenosis, unlike laser treatment which is not available for the condition:
Trigger point manipulation
Trigger points are painful areas of tension within your soft tissues. In-house trigger point manipulation involves placing pressure on these points, which can relieve referred pain resulting from spinal stenosis.
The Vertiflex™ procedure
The Vertiflex procedure is a minor surgery to place a Superion® interspinous spacer device, which widens the foramen compressing your nerve. This procedure is a great, minimally invasive option to treat lumbar spinal stenosis.
Spinal cord stimulation
Spinal cord stimulation involves an implanted device that delivers electrical impulses to your spinal cord. Using a remote to your device, you can replace pain from spinal stenosis with a more comfortable tingling or relieve it altogether.
Epidural steroid injections
Epidural steroid injections are injections placed into the epidural space, which is the space around your spinal cord within the vertebrae. The steroid in the injections relieves inflammation, which can reduce pressure from spinal stenosis.
Minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD®)
MILD is primarily a non-operative treatment for lumbar stenosis. Through a small incision, your provider removes the ligament or bone overgrowths that are placing pressure on your nerves or spinal cord.
To learn more about spinal stenosis and its treatments, book your consultation by phone or online at Interventional Pain Consultants today.
