Back Pain Sufferers Have Many Options for Spinal Stenosis Treatment

spinal stenosis

Spinal stenosis is a painful and progressive disease caused by a narrowing of the spinal canal. As the patient's spinal canal becomes narrower and narrower, it places pressure on the delicate nerves of the back, often in the neck or lower-back area. The result is a combination of symptoms that range from moderately uncomfortable to terribly painful. These can include numbness, cramping, or pain in the back, legs, neck, shoulders or arms.

Those who suffer from spinal stenosis also experience weakness of all or a portion of their arms and/or legs, and in all cases symptoms are worse when the patient is standing upright, and may lessen when they sit down or lean forward.

The causes of this condition are typically age related, though there are some sufferers who have congenital abnormalities of the spine that can create or hasten the narrowing of the spinal canal. For the most part, as people age their spinal discs become drier and shrink. In conjunction with arthritic conditions in the spine, the result is the pinching or pressure on the nerves that defines spinal stenosis.

Typical treatment of the condition begins with pain medication, steroid injections, and lifestyle changes. While these treatments can be beneficial in the early stages of the disease, they do not "cure" spinal stenosis. The narrowing of the spinal canal cannot be reversed without surgical intervention, and so, eventually, most people with spinal stenosis will have surgery. Traditionally this meant open-back surgery that may or may not ease pain caused by the condition, or perhaps even fusing of the discs. These surgeries are invasive and involve lengthy healing times and the formation of scar tissue that can be problematic in its own right.

Thankfully there are far less invasive procedures available today, including laser spine surgery. When performed by board-certified surgeons these less invasive techniques are safe and highly effective in a minimal amount of time. Healing is quick, and in most cases the entire procedure is performed on an outpatient basis. In fact, relief is often experienced within hours.

Other modern treatment options for degenerative conditions like spinal stenosis include the use of the patient's own stem cells to stimulate the growth of cartilage. This can ease the pain caused by nerve compression, and relieve arthritis of the back. By using the patient's own stem cells, the rejection of tissues is unlikely to happen, and recovery times are greatly improved.

As these new technologies progress, the suffering of back pain from conditions like spinal stenosis, and the invasive techniques used to treat them, are becoming a thing of the past. More and more patients are opting for minimally invasive back surgery and treatment, realizing that there's really no need to suffer the agony of back pain when modern technology offers a fast and effective solution.