Spinal Stenosis

Symptoms of Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is most commonly experienced in the lower back (the lumbar vertebrae). The symptoms related to spinal stenosis in the lower back include tingling, numbness, cramping, or pain radiating down into the legs and feet. Spinal stenosis can also affect bodily functions. It may cause abnormal bladder or bowel function, as well as the loss of sexual function. Additional symptoms may include experiencing pain while walking — particularly when walking up or down a ramp, hill, or stairs — that is often relieved by sitting or leaning forward.

Less common, but much more dangerous, is the occurrence of spinal stenosis in the neck (cervical spine). Spinal stenosis in the cervical spine puts compression directly on the spinal cord. Spinal stenosis in this area can cause you to feel pain, numbness, and tingling spreading into the arms, hands, and shoulders. Spinal stenosis in the neck can cause muscular weakness, and in severe cases, lead to partial or total body paralysis.

Osteoarthritis is a Common Cause of Spinal Stenosis

The most common cause for spinal stenosis is osteoarthritis. While the most prevalent cause of osteoarthritis in the spine is subluxations (misalignments) and lack of motion of the vertebrae, the wear and tear to the body from injuries and physical stress may also cause osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis can cause spinal stenosis by creating bone spurs (osteophytes) that narrow the spinal canal. The narrowed passages through the spinal canal will cause the nerves to be pinched or compressed.

Osteoarthritis in the spine can also lead to the deterioration of the discs in the spine, which in turn leads to spinal stenosis. As we mentioned earlier in this article, stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal through which all the nerves pass that branch out throughout your entire body. When these nerves are pinched, compressed, or irritated, it will result in reduced function to the muscles and organs of the body as well as pain.

People often associate osteoarthritis with older individuals. While it is more common in older individuals, it is also directly related to the number of injuries, stress, and wear and tear your body has been subjected to, and whether you have taken care to make sure your spine and joints stay properly aligned and functioning normally.

Additional causes of Spinal Stenosis

• Bad posture
• Disc herniation
• Osteophytes or bone spurs
• Tumors or cysts pressing on the nerves
• Previous injury or surgery to the spine (especially if not treated properly)
• Thickened ligaments (ligamentum flavum and posterior longitudinal ligament) that support the vertebrae
• Individuals born with a narrow spinal cord canal (not common)

Medical Treatment Options for Spinal Stenosis

Typical treatments include pain medications and physical therapy. However, these treatments do not correct spinal stenosis, and at best provide temporary relief.

Physical therapy and exercise can help you strengthen your body and improve your ability to maintain proper posture, but it does not correct the underlying problem. Pain medications, whether prescription or over-the-counter, are designed to temporarily relieve the pain while doing nothing to correct the actual problem. And with pain medications, there always comes the risk of side-effects.

Cortisone injections, or epidurals, can also be used to relieve pain. While these injections may provide some temporary relief, cortisone injections also come with a number of side effects, including:

• Localized increase in pain
• High blood sugar
• Infection
• A temporary decrease in immunity
• Localized degeneration
• Nerve damage

In worse case scenarios, surgery may be recommended. In addition to the risks that go along with any surgery, surgery does not cure osteoarthritis or spinal stenosis. Typically, during surgery for spinal stenosis, pieces of your vertebrae, called the lamina, are removed (know as a laminectomy), and often they will fuse vertebrae together. Once two or more of your vertebrae have been fused, your range of motion will be forever limited. This will also put more pressure and force on the vertebrae surrounding the fused area. This will cause more frequent subluxations to the spine.

Traditional medicine may provide symptomatic relief, but it does not always diminish the pressure on your nervous system, nor does it prevent the continued deterioration to the spine. Chiropractic care can help to reduce the pressure on the nerves as well as restore your range of motion and reduce the pain levels due to spinal canal stenosis.

Chiropractic Care and Spinal Stenosis

Chiropractic care is a safe and effective treatment option that is completely natural and does not use pain medications or have the risks of epidural injections or surgery. Chiropractic treatments include chiropractic spinal adjustments, various traction methods, spinal decompression therapy, and flexion-distraction techniques to provide relief from spinal stenosis. Flexion-distraction is a method offered at our practice that provides pain relief for patients with spinal canal stenosis. Flexion-distraction can open the spinal canal space, relieve the pressure within the discs, and realign vertebrae in order to restore motion.

If you are looking for alternatives to medications and surgeries for symptomatic relief, please contact Dr. Berardis at (914) 962-1234, and request a consultation. If you feel friends and family can benefit from this article, please share and recommend this article.