Do you have trouble standing up straight due to pain, or difficulty walking even short
distances before you have to stop and sit because it hurts so much?
If so, you might have a condition called spinal stenosis.
In this video I’m going to go over the signs and symptoms of spinal stenosis, and share
two effective treatments to help relieve pain.
To start off with, let’s go over: What is Spinal Stenosis?
A common cause of neck, back, and sciatica pain is due to spinal stenosis, which is when
the spaces where the spinal nerves travel through the spine begin to narrow and become
closed off.
Think of a hole where a spinal nerve goes through that is becoming smaller and smaller,
until it’s so small it starts to pinch the spinal cord or spinal nerve roots.
This results in a compressed, or pinched nerve, that causes pain, tingling, or numbness.
What are the signs and symptoms of spinal stenosis?
Spinal stenosis causes nerve compression that can lead to many symptoms not only in the
neck and back, but also in the arms or legs.
Symptoms such as traveling pains like sciatica, weakness, cramping, numbness and tingling,
and muscle spasms.
In very severe cases, incontinence or paralysis has been reported.
People that suffer from spinal stenosis have pain when trying to stand up straight, especially
after sitting for a long time.
Other signs may include pain or weakness with walking — especially while going up or down
a hill, ramp or stairs — which is often relieved with sitting or leaning forward.
A big sign I see here at SpineCare is when a patient tells me that it’s unbearable
to shop at a store, unless they have a shopping cart they can lean in to while walking.
What causes spinal stenosis?
Probably the biggest cause of stenosis I see is due osteoarthritis — or “wear and tear”
arthritis that is from repetitive injuries and stresses on the neck or back.
The most common cause of osteoarthritis is lack of motion or misalignment of the vertebrae
(or building blocks) in the spine.
Osteoarthritis causes osteophytes (or bone spurs) which narrow the canal, compressing
the spinal cord or spinal nerve.
Other causes of stenosis include: poor posture,
disc herniation or bulges, tumors or cysts,
and a previous injury or surgery to the spine (especially if not treated properly).
Spinal Stenosis is more common in people over the age of 50, due to the build-up of osteoarthritis
and bone spurs over time in the neck or back.
Also at risk are people who have sedentary lifestyles, such as sitting for most of the
day, which leads to a lack of motion in the spine.
This increases the chance of developing osteoartithis and stenosis.
What are the treatment options?
When spinal stenosis is caused by disc degeneration or herniation, I recommend non-surgical spinal
decompression therapy to my patients.
It has a high success rate among patients here at SpineCare.
With this treatment a specific, gentle traction is applied to the damaged areas in the spine.
This causes a gentle stretching of the spine and helps open up areas that have become closed
off, which helps relieve pressure off pinched nerves.
With the pressure being removed from surrounding nerves, pain and symptoms caused by spinal
stenosis begins to diminish.
Another treatment option is chiropractic care.
Chiropractic is a safe, proven, and effective treatment used by millions of people.
It’s a great option for those who are searching for a conservative, drugless, and non-surgical
route.
At SpineCare, I use a gentle, traction based method called flexion-distraction.
This technique can help open the spinal canal spaces, relieving the pressure in the spine
and correcting joint alignment in order to restore motion.
Patients with spinal stenosis in our clinic have reported not only reduced pain and symptoms,
but improved range of motion as well.
If you are looking for alternatives to medication and surgery for relief, please contact us
today and schedule for a consultation.
We’ve helped many patients in the St. Joseph MI area, and we may be able to help you.
Also, if you know of others who can benefit from this video, please like and share.
Thanks for watching!