Spinal Stenosis

We’ve all heard about how important it is to have some spine. The column of bones that makes up our spine is a miracle of evolution. It’s a flexible yet strong cage made of soft delicate strands of nerve axons. The spinal cord needs protecting. It forms the main connection between the brain and the rest of the body below the shoulders.

Spinal stenosis is a disease where the internal canal that houses the spinal cord starts narrowing down and choking the cord. Another form of stenosis involves the thin little canals allowing the escape of the spinal nerves from the cord. These canals become narrow causing stenosis.

Symptoms:
Stenosis can be caused due to the inevitable aging process. As the patient ages the bones decalcify and collapse. The cells that form the bone don’t form new bones that easily. Obesity, osteoporosis and diabetes are all diseases that speed up or worsen the degree of stenosis.

The symptoms revolve around the compression of the cord or the nerves entering the cord. Those nerves supply sensations like touch and pain. They also send information to the muscles for movement. When spinal nerves get compressed or when the cord gets compressed the patient suffers severe back pain at the spot of stenosis, pain from nerve connection as well as weakness due to muscle control issues.

Treatment:
Stenosis treatment revolves around controlling the disease’s progress and addressing the underlying causes like obesity, weight loss, osteoporosis, vitamin-D deficiency, calcium deficiency etc.

Physical therapy to strengthen the muscles and soften tissues that stabilize the spine is the mainstay of treatment. All patients who suffer from stenosis will get some benefit from regular therapy.

Surgery is generally considered as a last resort, coupled with a desperate situation where medication (pain killers) and other therapies have failed. When undertaking a surgical workup, the orthopedic spine specialist or neurosurgeon has to embark on a very thorough examination of the patient (physically as well as with MRIs and other testing). If the area that is to be decompressed matches the area causing the pain then surgery should help.

Spinal stenosis is one of the most common conditions that causes the world’s most common symptom, back pain. Anyone with a back pain would do well to avoid the risk factors for this condition by losing weight, exercising regularly and keeping their bones healthy!