Spinal Stenosis

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis develops when something makes the spinal canal too narrow. The spinal canal is a channel inside the vertebrae that form your spine. It houses the spinal cord, a central nerve hub connected to your brain.

Nerves leave the spinal cord through gaps in your vertebrae, spreading throughout your body. If the spinal canal narrows, it can compress the nerve roots exiting your spinal canal.

What symptoms does spinal stenosis cause?

Some people with spinal stenosis don’t suffer any adverse effects. Others develop chronic back or neck pain and problems such as:

• Tingling
• Prickling
• Numbness
• Weakness
• Pins-and-needles sensations
• Loss of function

If the compressed nerves are in your neck (cervical stenosis), these symptoms might extend down your arms. If the problem is in your lower back (lumbar stenosis), you might have symptoms in your hips, buttocks, and legs.

Spinal stenosis pain typically improves when you sit, especially if you bend forward because it reduces pressure on the compressed nerves.

What causes spinal stenosis?

The most common spinal stenosis causes are osteoarthritis and herniated discs. Osteoarthritis is a wear-and-tear disorder that can affect multiple joints after many years of use. In the spine, it affects the facet joints that link the vertebrae. The bone loses its protective coating and starts deteriorating, getting weaker and rougher.

This causes inflammation, pain, and spinal alignment changes that can narrow the spinal canal. Bone spurs can also develop — small growths your spine produces to reinforce weakened areas that often cause further narrowing. The spinal ligaments can also thicken.

Discs are pads of shock-absorbent tissue that sit in between each vertebra. The discs lose their plumpness as you age, getting drier and flatter. This also affects spinal alignment and can cause bulging or herniation if the soft core pushes through a weak part of the outer shell. The bulging or protruding tissue then presses on the spinal nerves.

How is spinal stenosis treated?

SEPA Pain & Spine’s spinal stenosis treatments include:

• Activity modification
• Anti-inflammatory medication
• Physical therapy
• Epidural steroid injections
• Facet joint injections
• Nerve blocks
• Biologic injections like platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Spinal cord stimulation

If nonsurgical treatments don’t help, you may need minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). Options include mild® (minimally invasive lumbar decompression) and the Superion® procedure from Vertiflex®.

Call SEPA Pain & Spine to arrange a spinal stenosis assessment or book an appointment online today.