Spinal Stenosis Symptoms and What to Look For During Check-up

spinal stenosis

If there is any constriction in the stenosis, or the spinal canal, the resulting narrowing causes the dreaded spinal stenosis symptoms of extreme back pain and numbness. The extremities are affected with weakness and tingling. Stenosis can put its debilitating effects on any portion in the spinal column but the lumbar section, or the lower back, and the cervical region, or the neck and upper back area, are the usual victims. Elderly people are most often affected because of their age, which is why their movements are often restricted the older they get.

Birth defects can be a cause of stenosis but it's not very common. However, the compression can be caused by senior age-related diseases, for example, disc degeneration and the stiffening and thickening of ligaments that hold your spine in place. Degenerative diseases like Paget's disease, spinal injuries, or abnormal growths can cause a narrowing as well.

People can have stenosis without feeling spinal stenosis symptoms. When the nerves are inflamed, however, it's a whole different story. And the symptoms themselves are different depending on where you're hurting. If it's your lower back that's killing you, you feel fatigued and benumbed plus a generalized painful sensation in the limbs which increases while walking. If the sick person can have the chance to lie down, then the feelings of pain are somewhat lessened. In extreme cases, the patient may feel "prickling" in their legs while reflex actions like sneezing and coughing can cause excruciating back pains in the lumbar region.

If pain is more frequent in the upper back and neck area, then the arms are hit with a lack of sensation and general weakness that may cause tripping or dropping of objects that are held. In extreme cases, the affected person will lose the ability to write and will be unable to perform actions that require fine motor movements. Because the pain moves, it may be misidentified as sciatica, which could result in wrong treatments being prescribed, like a bulging disc treatment which is essentially useless in this case. One key point is that spinal stenosis symptoms pains actually increase rather than decrease when given enough time, which is opposite of degenerated discs..

A good doctor will start the treatment of spinal stenosis symptoms with a thorough physical to measure spinal damage, balance, and movement range and an interview of a detailed medical history. He will also ask for medications previously taken, previous treatments, what worked and what did not.

Next on the agenda will be x-rays and MRI scans to look inside the body. The x-ray can give the radiologist an idea of where to focus and the Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan will show details of the injured area. Specific vertebrae can be pinpointed and a good working plan for spinal stenosis symptoms treatments can finally be made.