What is spinal stenosis? Hi, I'm Dr. John Shim, and as a spinal specialist, I see
lots of people who are concerned about that finding. For most folks, usually that
diagnosis is found only after obtaining testing such as a cat scan or MRI of
your spine. Like many things the term sounds intimidating. Let me
simplify. Stenosis means narrowing. In the spine this narrowing has potential to
pinch either the nerves or the spinal cord. Oftentimes a person may have some
neck or back pain, and because the pain did not resolve, testing such as an MRI
or cat scan is obtained. Interestingly, just because there's narrowing and
pinching it does not necessarily mean there's a specific pain, numbness or
tingling. Because of our experience of testing many people, and because of
research that tested people without any complaints, the medical community knows
as we age spinal stenosis is expected. The process of developing spinal
stenosis is related to a combination of disc degeneration and arthritis. As explained in
some of my prior videos, as the discs narrow the outer strong fibers, the
annulus, and other associated ligaments such as the post your longitudinal
ligament and the ligamentum flavum are not stretched to its normal
orientation. This causes a broadening and widening of these ligaments. These
ligaments typically encase the spinal components. With broadening and widening
this causes narrowing on to the spinal components. Also with the disc-based
narrowing the side holes where the nerves exit out the spinal canal also narrow. In
addition, because the joints in the back which are called these facet joints
start to rub against each other abnormally, the normal arthritis process
of cartilage wear, and subsequent elongation of the bony surfaces of the
joints happen. This is the so called bone spur process. When you combine these
three processes, there's the development of the narrowing pinching and the spinal
stenosis phenomena. The question is how does
spinal stenosis affect your body? Spinal stenosis is part of the degenerative
cascade. There is that arthritis component. Arthritis of your spine can
cause neck and back pain. This can explain actually a lot of the discomfort
you are currently having. If the nerves or the spinal cord are being pinched it
can potentially cause many different sensations. A pinched nerve can be very
painful with radiating symptoms down the arms and legs. Spinal stenosis can be
associated with difficulty of walking for certain distances. The classic
description of spinal stenosis involves the ability to walk for certain
distances, then you tire. Some people can even count the steps when this happened.
When they have that inability to walk, they will sit or bend for a certain
period of time, then they can resume their normal walk. Another classic
description of spinal stenosis is the ability to walk without difficulty when
bent over a shopping cart but when standing upright you're limited to your
distance of ambulation. Spinal stenosis when narrowing of the spinal cord can
actually cause progressive weakness to both the arms and legs and loss of some
important bodily functions including the ability to control your bladder and
bowels. If you have spinal stenosis identified on testing it may not cause
any pain at all. On the other hand it can cause many of the more serious
complaints discussed before. Understand that spinal stenosis is part of the
aging process, and is expected for everyone after a certain age. If you have
a diagnosis of spinal stenosis it's important to have a discussion with your
doctor to see if the findings on testing is actually related to your current
complaints. Depending on your symptoms, options as simple as activities
modifications to as drastic as surgery may be necessary. I'm Dr. John Shim,
discussing spinal stenosis. If you find this information useful, please explore
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Please contact us if there's a specific topic you'd also like to review. Thanks
for watching.