Spinal Stenosis Column
Spinal Stenosis Surgery - Things You Should Consider
As with any surgical procedure, undergoing spinal stenosis surgery is a significant decision to make. You may have been suffering from the symptoms associated with the condition - typically pain, numbness, weakness, and tingling that can affect the upper or lower body - for weeks or months, and the idea of surgery may seem like your only hope left to relieve your discomfort. If your doctor has suggested elective surgical intervention, it's likely you are one of few patients for whom surgery is, in fact, a final treatment option. That said, it's important that you carefully weigh all of the advantages and disadvantages associated with spinal stenosis surgery before you sign any consent forms.
Spinal Stenosis Procedure - Understanding Your Surgical Options
If your doctor has asked you to consider undergoing a spinal stenosis procedure, you are one of many individuals suffering from the persistent symptoms of spinal canal and/or foraminal canal narrowing. Your symptoms have probably been unresponsive to conservative treatments, and as a result, your doctor believes that you require surgery to decompress your spinal cord or a nerve root. Before you agree to any procedure, it's in your best interest to learn as much as you can about the surgical options available to you.
Understanding Your Spinal Stenosis Procedure
If your doctor has asked you to consider a spinal procedure to treat spinal canal or intervertebral foramen constriction, it’s important to do your homework. As with any surgical procedure, spine surgery carries with it a variety of benefits and risks, so having a complete understanding of these before undergoing surgery can help you through the entire process.
Spinal Stenosis Surgery: Open Spine vs. Endoscopic Procedures
Spinal stenosis surgery is usually considered a last-resort treatment option and only a small percentage of patients actually need surgical intervention to improve their quality of life. For most patients, several weeks or months of conservative (nonsurgical) treatments are able to mitigate symptoms. Those who do not respond to conservative therapies like epidural steroid injections, pain medication, or physical therapy, may be asked to consider surgery to decompress neural structures affected by the narrowing of the spinal canal or intervertebral foramina. Before consenting to any surgery, however, patients should thoroughly research all of the options available to them. The best way to begin researching is to consider the two main types of spinal stenosis surgery: open spine and endoscopic.
Exploring Spinal Stenosis Treatment Possibilities
If you've been recently diagnosed with spinal stenosis, your treatment will likely begin conservatively, or nonsurgically. Conservative treatments are considered the first step in treating many health conditions, and spinal stenosis is no exception. While the condition - which involves the narrowing of the spinal canal or intervertebral foramina - may be causing you varying degrees of discomfort throughout the day, you may take comfort in knowing that you probably will not need surgical intervention.
Ascertaining a Spinal Stenosis Diagnosis
Obtaining an official spinal stenosis diagnosis is an essential part of formulating an effective treatment plan, and only your family physician or a spine specialist can ascertain a diagnosis for you. While every doctor will have their own diagnostic methods, discussing your medical history, performing a physical exam, and ordering imaging tests are general aspects of diagnosing spine conditions.
Spinal Stenosis Symptoms & Treatments
Spinal stenosis symptoms can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint, as they are often similar to the symptoms associated with other spinal conditions or health problems. Though some patients with spinal stenosis (or the narrowing of the spinal canal) won't experience symptoms, others with the condition may experience discomfort when canal constriction compresses the spinal cord or a nerve root.
Understanding Spinal Stenosis Causes
What causes spinal stenosis? This question isn't always easy to answer, as the narrowing of the spinal canal or an intervertebral foramen can occur in many different ways. The spinal canal (the central opening in the middle of stacked vertebrae that protects the spinal cord as it travels from the base of the brain into the lower back) is relatively narrow to begin with, so any bone, tissue, or disc material that invades this space can easily interfere with spinal cord functioning. Similarly, the small openings of the intervertebral foramina (the lateral passageways formed by two stacked vertebrae that allow spinal nerve roots to exit the spinal canal) can be blocked. In the majority of cases, stenosis occurs due to age-related degeneration.
Spinal Stenosis - Understanding Your Condition
If you've been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, you likely have many questions and concerns about your condition. What do your symptoms mean? What sorts of treatments will work best for you? While many questions regarding back and neck conditions are difficult to definitively answer, it's important that you not only consult your doctor, but also perform your own research to learn as much as you can about your condition. This knowledge, along with having an understanding of and monitoring your symptoms, can help you and your doctor review possible causes of your condition.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is a term used to describe a narrowing in the spine. The narrowing can occur inside the canal where the spinal cord lays, or in the opening through which nerves pass to get from the spinal cord into the rest of the body.
Spinal Stenosis in the Neck
Spinal stenosis of the neck can be an extremely painful and even oftentimes debilitating condition that negatively impacts the sufferer’s quality of life. However, it’s important to recognize that spinal stenosis results from other back conditions and in many cases can even be the result of multiple spinal issues coming together. In fact, spinal stenosis is just a term used to describe a narrowing in the spinal canal. This narrowing can be due to conditions including:
Spinal Stenosis Surgery
Spinal stenosis surgery is a serious procedure that is only used when symptoms are so severe that they cannot be alleviated with normal, conservative techniques. Open back and neck spinal stenosis surgery requires a long incision of multiple inches, general anesthesia, a multi-day hospital stay, recovery time of many months, and no guarantee of successful treatment. However, many patients don't realize that open back and neck spinal stenosis surgery is not the only option, and there is another choice they can make for their spinal stenosis treatment, one without many of the disadvantages of open back and neck surgery.
Spinal Stenosis of the Back
Spinal stenosis, which is also known as narrowing of the spine, can be an extremely painful condition. This is because when it progresses, the constriction can pinch a nerve root or even the spinal cord itself, and this pressure keeps the nerve or spinal cord from transmitting signals properly. The result is pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, burning, and other symptoms in various areas of the body.
Spinal Stenosis Treatment
Spinal stenosis is a term used to describe narrowing in the spine. It can be due to any number of conditions, and oftentimes is a result of multiple issues coming together. Spinal stenosis treatment, therefore, lies in addressing the underlying cause of the narrowing. As this condition is alleviated, the spinal canal will open up, and any symptoms resulting from the constriction should dissipate.
While treatments for spinal stenosis vary according to the cause of spinal narrowing, some of the more common conservative options include:
Spinal Stenosis Symptoms
Spinal stenosis symptoms can be caused by any number of back issues, and they can also vary in intensity and in the area of the body in which they are experienced. For example, stenosis in the cervical spine or upper back will cause symptoms in the neck, upper back, arms, and shoulders. Alternately, lumbar stenosis will cause symptoms in the lower back, buttocks, legs, and feet.
Regardless of where or how intensely they’re felt, spinal stenosis symptoms often include some combination of:
Spinal Stenosis Diagnosis
When you are experiencing back pain, it can be a relief to know what is causing your symptoms. However, a spinal stenosis diagnosis simply means that your spinal canal is constricted and this narrowing can be due to a number of different conditions, which still must be identified and treated by a medical professional. Some of these conditions include:
Spinal Stenosis Causes
Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine, can have many causes. However, all of them have the capacity to cause significant and debilitating symptoms to the sufferer. These symptoms can include pain, tingling, numbness, burning, and much more in various parts of the body depending on where the stenosis occurs in the spine.
Foraminal Spinal Stenosis and Bone Spurs
Foraminal spinal stenosis can be better understood if we break the term down into its components. “Stenosis” refers to the narrowing of any space in the spinal canal, while “foraminal” refers to the foramina of your spine, which are openings on either side of each vertebra through which spinal nerves pass. So, foraminal spinal stenosis is simply a narrowing of these canals.
Lumbar Foraminal Stenosis Can be Treated at Laser Spine Institute
Lumbar foraminal stenosis is a condition that can lead to lower back pain, sciatica, and other related symptoms. Frequently exhibited as a side effect of the natural aging process, stenosis is the gradual narrowing of the foraminal canals in the spine. In a healthy spine, nerves pass through these canals and exit the spinal column before branching out into the body. But should these foramen become obstructed, the nerves may be compressed and painful symptoms can result. This condition is particularly common in the lumbar spine because of the significant weight burden placed on the lower back. Over time, the lumbar spine grows susceptible to deterioration that can result in stenosis.
Degenerative Spinal Stenosis Can be Treated in a Number of Ways
Degenerative spinal stenosis is a condition that can develop over time and leave you suffering from back or neck pain. It occurs as the body ages and wear and tear on the spine begins to damage the tissues. For instance, bone spurs develop, intervertebral discs thin and become herniated, and osteoarthritis presents in the vertebral joints. Sometimes these conditions occur and they cause no symptoms. However, if a herniated disc, bone spur, or inflamed tissue extends into the spinal canal, it narrows the space and can cause nerve compression, which can lead to a variety of painful symptoms. This narrowing of the spinal canal is called stenosis.
Foraminal Stenosis in the Neck May Require Surgical Treatment
Foraminal stenosis in the neck is the narrowing of the foramen, or open spaces, in the cervical spine where nerves exit the spinal canal. Existing at every level of the spine, foramen are narrow passageways between the vertebrae through which nerves pass as they branch off the spinal cord and extend throughout the body. Yet over time, these passageways can gradually become narrowed, which causes compression of the nerves. This nerve compression can result in a number of painful symptoms depending on the location of the nerve.
Spinal Tumors and Stenosis
Spinal tumors, often the result of genetics or disease, can originate on the bones or tissue in the spinal canal, or they can spread to the back from other parts of the body including the lungs or liver. They can have a wide range of physical effects including a reduced range of motion, pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness. All of these symptoms can occur when spinal tumors grow into the spinal canal or vertebral foramen, narrowing these spaces and creating pressure on nerve tissue. This condition is classified as spinal stenosis. Stenosis can also be caused by herniated or bulging discs, bone spurs, and other conditions, which can be treated with everything from physical therapy to back or neck surgery.
Paget’s Disease and Spinal Stenosis
Paget’s Disease is a condition most frequently experienced later in life. It’s marked by a faster than usual regeneration of bone, and the result can be malformed, enlarged, or brittle bones. When this development occurs in or near the spinal canal, the misshapen bone may invade the space where spinal nerve tissue travels. If the bone crowds the tissue too much, it can cause compression of the spinal nerve tissue, also known as stenosis. The result can be inflammation and pain, and in more serious cases numbness, tingling, and weakness. These symptoms are felt in the back and sometimes in the limbs, torso or extremities, depending on which nerve is compressed.
Thoracic Spinal Stenosis Treatment at Laser Spine Institute
Thoracic spinal stenosis can lead to tightness, weakness and pain in the mid-back where the condition originates, but it can also produce the same symptoms in the chest, even though the actual issue is in the spine. This is because the nerves that exit the spinal column in the thoracic region travel around the ribs to the front of the body. Regardless of where it is felt, the pain occurs because stenosis narrows the spinal column and pinches nerve tissue, causing irritation at the site and wherever the nerve travels. And while spinal stenosis can also occur in the neck or lower back, the natural narrowness of the spinal canal in the thoracic region makes it especially susceptible to the condition.
Congenital Spinal Stenosis May be Treated at Laser Spine Institute
Being diagnosed with congenital spinal stenosis can feel like a life sentence of back pain, but it doesn’t have to. At Laser Spine Institute, we may be able to widen the spinal canal using one of our innovative laser-assisted procedures. And, because we use endoscopic techniques, our treatments are easier on the body than traditional open-back surgeries. Endoscopy uses a narrow tube inserted through a tiny incision to access the stenosis site, so no muscle it cut or torn. When the tube reaches the stenosis, small, nimble tools are used to perform the surgery, further minimizing trauma to the surrounding tissue. Those advances result in a quicker recovery time than traditional surgery, and less chance of developing scar tissue that leads to future back pain.
Spinal Stenosis Pain Can Often be treated at Laser Spine Institute
Spinal stenosis pain can be minor—a little tingling in your leg or arm—but for an unfortunate few, it can be nearly crippling. These sufferers experience enough weakness in their limbs that it can be hard to hold onto things or stand on their own. Spinal stenosis can even rob them of their dignity by causing loss of bowel or bladder control. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a treatment for spinal stenosis pain at Laser Spine Institute (LSI) that is a great alternative for patients who are experiencing severe pain and haven’t achieved any measure of relief with more conservative treatments.
Spinal Stenosis Causes and How They Can be Remedied at Laser Spine Institute
Spinal stenosis causes serious pain for some sufferers by compressing spinal nerve tissue. This compression results in irritation, swelling, and numbness and tingling at the stenosis site, as well as in other parts of the body on some occasions. That’s because if the compression is severe enough, the nerve will send pain signals to wherever it travels in the body including the limbs or extremities. Fortunately, there are a number of treatments to reduce this pain, but to understand how they work, it helps to understand the condition first.
Endoscopic Back Surgery for Spinal Stenosis Patients at Laser Spine Institute
Foraminotomy for Spinal Stenosis Can Be Safer with Laser Spine Institute
If your doctor has suggested foraminotomy for spinal stenosis treatment you may want to consider undergoing the procedure at Laser Spine Institute. We use advanced endoscopic techniques that reduce the risk for infection and dramatically lessen the trauma to surrounding tissue when compared to traditional open-back surgery. This allows all of our procedures to be conducted on an outpatient basis and all of our patients to be up and walking within hours of surgery.
Laminotomy for Spinal Stenosis Can Be a Better Option than Laminectomy
If you’ve worked your way through a laundry list of conservative treatments for spinal stenosis and found no relief, you may be considering surgery. While there are several procedures that can be very effective in reducing your pain, you may want to consider laminotomy for spinal stenosis. This procedure can often provide the same relief as a laminectomy—one of the most common stenosis surgeries—without some of the associated risks. The basic difference between the two procedures is this: during a laminectomy the entire lamina, which is a bony plate on each vertebra that protects the spine, is removed to create more space and relieve pressure; a laminotomy only removes part of it. By leaving a portion of the lamina, the affected vertebra stays strong. A laminectomy, on the other hand, often weakens the vertebra enough to require a spinal fusion. Spinal fusion joins the affected vertebra with the one next to it with metal implants and bone grafts to make it more stable.
The Downside of Stabilization Surgery and How You Can Avoid It
Stabilization surgery, also known as spinal fusion, is a common procedure sometimes performed in conjunction with spinal decompression on stenosis patients. Essentially, it uses bone grafts and metal implants to join two or more vertebrae in an attempt to lend support to a weakened one. Weakening can occur during decompression surgery because chunks of bone are cut away to create more room in the spinal canal. While stabilization surgery can be successful in providing more support, the drawbacks of the procedure make it an unattractive choice for many patients.
Decompression Surgery May Help Spinal Stenosis Sufferers
Spinal stenosis is one of the most common back ailments for Americans in middle age and beyond. There are a variety of treatments for this condition, including decompression surgery, but before pursuing a fix for the condition, it’s important to understand why it occurs and what it does to the body. Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal, and it often results from natural wear and tear on the body. In some cases, a bulging disc will squeeze into the canal, reducing space for the spine or nerves. Other times, facet disease can cause the narrowing. This occurs when extra bone builds up on the facet joints in an attempt to protect them as their protective cartilage deteriorates. There other potential reasons stenosis occurs as well, but no matter what the cause, the result is often tingling, numbness, and pain that can restrict mobility.
Diagnosing Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of passageways in the spinal canal that causes nerves to be pinched. Symptoms include leg—or more rarely arm pain—numbness and tingling, and pain in the spine. If you’ve experienced these symptoms and are considering a visit to the doctor, here’s a little information on what to expect.
Spinal Stenosis Symptoms Can Be Relieved Safely With Laser Spine Surgery
There is a seemingly endless list of back problems that can cause pain and discomfort, but one of the most common - especially for those over 65 - is spinal stenosis. This condition occurs when a bone spur or other tissue narrows the space inside the spinal canal and pinches the nerve. Spinal stenosis symptoms include pain, numbness, and/or tingling in one or both legs; discomfort when standing and relief when sitting; and/or weakness in legs. If these symptoms sound familiar, you may want to consult a doctor if you haven’t already. They can order a CT scan or MRI which can help determine if you are indeed suffering from spinal stenosis symptoms. If you find this to be true, and the pain has substantially reduced the range of activities you can take part in, than your doctor may suggest you consider surgery. Unfortunately the traditional surgery for relieving spinal stenosis symptoms also comes with a host of potential complications. But Laser Spine Institute offers an alternative that is safer for patients while still being highly effective.
Spinal Stenosis Treatment from Laser Spine Institute Can End Pain and Weakness in the Legs
Spinal stenosis occurs when a bone spur or other tissue narrows the spinal canal and squeezes the nerve. The result is pain and weakness in the legs that can be so severe it makes simply walking from room to room in your home a chore. Without spinal stenosis treatment, the symptoms are very unlikely to fade, so it’s time to consider your options. Traditionally, spinal stenosis treatment requires open back surgery in a hospital where muscle and bone are cut to access the surgery site. This requires general anesthesia and can lead to a painful and lengthy recovery process and also increases the chances of infection. For older patients - the people most likely to suffer from spinal stenosis - this can be as uncomfortable as the original pain and even dangerous. Fortunately Laser Spine Institute offers another spinal stenosis treatment that is safer for all patients.
Spinal Stenosis Treatments with Laser Surgery Versus Open-Back Surgery
After trying physical therapy, pain relievers, chiropractic care, and a back brace for your spinal stenosis, your doctor may explain that the only option left is open-back surgery. You, however, might not like the idea of checking into a hospital for an invasive procedure that requires general anesthesia, a large incision, a lengthy recovery time, and possible complications.
Treating Spinal Stenosis in a 5 Day Process at Laser Spine Institute
With symptoms such as radiating back and hip pain, cramping, neck pain, shoulder pain, and loss of balance, spinal stenosis can be excruciating to live with on a daily basis. Needless to say, anyone with an advanced form of this affliction probably wants relief from their symptoms as soon as possible so that they can to return to the activities they love, be it gardening, fishing, golfing, working, or carefree family time.
It is possible to find relief from spinal stenosis, but some treatments for serious cases involve invasive open-back surgery. Even after open-back surgery, patients still face a long recovery involving lingering pain, physical therapy, and the possibility that the surgery didn’t work.
Why Should Spinal Stenosis Patients Consider LSI?
The symptoms of spinal stenosis can greatly interfere with your ability to function - preventing you from visiting with friends and family, shopping, exercising, or even getting out of bed. When this occurs, it may be time to consider surgery.
Your doctor may have recommended open back surgery for your spinal stenosis, but this invasive option can leave you with a painful recovery lasting weeks or months. During your recovery from open back surgery, you will likely need regular physical therapy, and your pain may continue for months. Open back surgery also comes with its share of downsides including the use of general anesthesia, scarring, longer hospital stays, higher infection rates, etc.
When it appears that surgery is your only option for spinal stenosis, you should contact Laser Spine Institute to learn about our gentle, minimally invasive procedures. LSI performs more of these procedures than any other spine surgery center in the world. Other reasons to consider LSI include:
Spinal Stenosis Can Be Treated with Gentle, Minimally Invasive Laser Surgery
Spinal stenosis begins when a piece of bone or disc material narrows the spinal canal and puts pressure on the spinal cord. This condition can cause pain and numbness in the legs, back, neck, arms, and shoulders. It also may lead to cramping, discomfort when walking, and sometimes bowel or bladder problems requiring emergency care. In serious cases, spinal stenosis can greatly limit your ability to be active, enjoy your loved ones, or even get out of bed.
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
With lumbar spinal stenosis, the spinal canal becomes narrow. This is mostly due to aging as well as degeneration in the spine. The discs located between the vertebrae may become dehydrated, thus resulting in loss of density and no longer acting as a cushion between the bones.
Different Types of Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis can affect you in any of the major segments of the spine and is often termed with the segment affected. If there is surgery to be preformed it is very important for the surgeon to know the specifics of your spinal stenosis as it will guide the surgeon in locating the correct area for treatment.
Exercises for Spinal Stenosis
When considering treatment for spinal stenosis, exercises that emphasize forward bending (flexion of the spine) are often suggested by spine specialists and physical therapists. Treating spinal stenosis using flexion of the spine increases the amount of room in the spinal canal allowing for the irritated nerve to decompress and the pain to be resolved.
Cervical Spinal Stenosis
Cervical stenosis is defined as a tightening, or reduction of space available for the spinal cord and nerves in the cervical canal. As the final stages of degeneration in the spine occur, bone spurs, also referred to as osteophytes, can form leading to the development of cervical stenosis.
Spinal Stenosis Treatment
An accurate diagnosis is a must when forming a treatment plan for spinal stenosis. Leg pain that worsens when you walk is one of the most common symptoms shared by patients suffering from spinal stenosis. A physical examination will not provide enough conclusive evidence to form a proper diagnosis. A MRI or CT scan will provide your doctor with the proper information needed to correctly diagnose spinal stenosis.
Spinal Stenosis Symptoms
One of the most difficult challenges your doctor will face is properly diagnosing your condition.
It’s difficult to attaining an accurate diagnosis because spinal stenosis shares many common symptoms linked to other conditions. The most common symptom of lumbar spinal stenosis is leg pain. Leg pain as a result of lumbar stenosis is often referred to as sciatica.
Spinal Stenosis Surgery
If you are unable to perform daily activities, or the quality of your lifestyle has been severely affected by spinal stenosis symptoms, your health care provider may recommend spinal stenosis surgery as the next step in your recovery.
Cause of Spinal Stenosis
When reviewing statistics, we find that the age bracket most commonly affected by spinal stenosis in men and women is over fifty years of age. Although age is the main criteria when considering a natural occurrence of spinal stenosis, a younger person may be afflicted with spinal stenosis because they were either born with a narrowing of the spinal canal, or they have suffered from a traumatic injury to the spine.
What is Spinal Stenosis
Originating from Greek, the term stenosis means a choking. Lumbar spinal stenosis occurs when spinal nerve roots in the lower back are compressed or choked producing painful symptoms. Along with the pain come symptoms of weakness or numbness.