- Oh, I personally have lumbar stenosis,
and I know what it feels like,
as well as many, many of our patients between Bob and I
as well as Mike have dealt with lumbar stenosis.
And we know some tricks
that you can really improve your pain with.
- So we will show you what has worked
for many people like Brad.
And we even have an audience suggestion
that worked well for him later.
- That's right.
So hold on, we'll be right back.
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So I was motivated to do this video from a actual viewer,
and he commented on a success of his lumbar stenosis,
44 years old.
He said standing for more
than two to three minutes really created low back pain,
which is pretty common with lumbar stenosis.
So what he did, he took a stretch that actually I showed him
that I learned from another therapist, and he says
if he does the first stretch we're gonna show you
his lumbar stenosis pain from standing is gone.
If he forgets to do the stretch
for two or three days, it comes back.
So it works just like clockwork.
- And lumbar stenosis can happen to anyone at any age.
It's more prevalent in people that are 50 or older.
Typically, as we age is, spine tends to wear down.
And when with lumbar stenosis, this is the lumbar spine,
meaning the lower part of your back.
There are five vertebrae there.
And typically you wanna keep it in a neutral position.
So sitting upright or a slightly flexed or forward position.
Typically, extension makes your pain worse for most people.
- That's right.
So we're gonna show you some
nice flexion relieving exercises as well as stretches.
All right, so the first stretch, the one that we mentioned
that our viewer had so much success with is this.
You will either need to have
a towel roll wrapped up real tightly
about six inches in diameter.
Actually, a foam roller does work the best.
One that's medium intensity, and density, I'm sorry.
So if you're using the towel roll,
you're gonna put it not at your belt line.
That's too high up.
We need to bring it down, down, down, right at your sacrum.
There we go,
at the bottom where the tailbone is, or the coccyx,
and then you'll find out it, it should feel comfortable,
the first time I did this,
I immediately felt relief like I do right now, there.
And so what the bolster or the roller does
is it helps flex that low spine L4, L5, S1,
the area that really is affected by lumbar stenosis.
This feels good.
I have to admit if this works consistently,
it would be worth it for you to buy one of these
because they work better, in my opinion.
It's up to you.
They're not real expensive,
and you can use 'em for a lot of other stretches.
And what I do is I grab here
and I roll it out a little bit,
and that helps stretch right there.
Do that for 15 to 30 seconds, two or three times,
and you're good for the day.
- So this next option is if you are very painful
and you kind of had a flare up,
typically what you wanna do is lay down
in bed or couch or something and you wanna make sure-
- [Brad] I think you meant lie down.
- Lie down, I'm sorry.
And you wanna elevate your legs up
because this is actually flexing your spine a little bit.
Here we have a leg wedge purposely designed for this.
You don't have to go out and buy one right away.
You can certainly use pillows, just put 'em the long way,
and make sure your spine is partly flexed.
Another good option is to either get a hot or cold pack,
whatever feels best for you, there's no right or wrong,
and just place it back there as well.
And you like to just kind of lay down
and take a nap when yours bothers you, doesn't it?
- Yeah, I personally prefer a cold pack when I'm flared up.
I use a leg wedge.
I've used pillows and I lie like that,
usually 15 to 20 minutes.
After that, It makes a notable difference on my pain level
from say a six or a seven or higher,
and it'll drop it down to a two or a one.
Makes significant difference.
All right, now usually with stenosis,
if your back is painful standing or walking
and you sit down,
the pain will be relieved relatively quickly.
However, it's not uncommon for long-term sitting
like in your car or watching TV or whatever
that your back starts to hurt
after 20 to 30 minutes or longer.
So getting the proper back support can be
a real game changer for long-term sitting.
What you can do is simply take a throw pillow,
probably not a thick one
'cause that's gonna arch your back too much,
but a soft thinner one
and put it in your car seat or wherever you're sitting,
and you will feel if it's the right one,
it's gonna feel like good support.
Pain will drop down.
I personally found out that this is a memory foam,
and it has changed my life in my car
when I drive long distances.
It does not have arch support.
It does, but it's a mild arch support,
but it's the memory foam really is helpful.
I put that back to I can drive a three hour drive
with almost no pain with this.
If I do not use this by the time
I get a half hour away from home,
I turn around to come back to get this,
well, maybe 20 minutes.
I don't know.
I might put up with the pain otherwise.
So there's a ton of different back cushions.
I'm not saying this is for you,
but it worked for me,
and I tried about four or five of 'em
before I got to this one.
Makes a whole difference just supporting your back
in the right manner.
Everyone's stenosis is a little different,
some's more severe, some's not as severe.
So make sure you take your time with this,
and you will find the right answer.
And Tanner, what's this all about?
- He's telling us to have the viewers comment down below.
- That's right.
- So if you have problems or spinal stenosis
and something worked well for you,
feel free to share it down below.
Try these three options.
They may not all be for you.
Just pick which ones work, and yeah.
- Yeah, very well done.
- [Mike] Thank you.
- All right, very good.
Have fun and live pain free.
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