Everything you need to know about spinal stenosis

Spinal stenosis is a slowly progressive disease that does not cause much pain while sitting or at rest. When a person stands or walk, the spinal cord gets compressed and the patient may feel heaviness, weakness and pain.

By: Kristina Das | | Updated: September 7, 2018 5:54 pm

The two main types of spinal stenosis are: Cervical stenosis and Lumbar stenosis. © Shutterstock

If you always look for a chair to sit, even if you are attending a social gathering then be sure that you are suffering from spinal stenosis. If you have this disease then you might also experience weakness, numbness or a tingling sensation in your feet, hands, arms and legs. Mostly, middle-aged people and older age groups get affected by the disease. It happens when the space available for the nerves in our backbone becomes narrower than normal and causes a pinching effect on the nerves and spinal cord. If this disease remain untreated for long then it might cause permanent weakness and numbness, may lead even to paralysis

What is spinal stenosis?
It is a slowly progressive disease that does not cause much pain while sitting or at rest. When a person stands or walk, the spinal cord gets compressed and the patient may feel heaviness, weakness, pain, tingling and numbness in the legs and a tendency to lose balance. But after sitting for a few minutes the symptoms may improve and the patient can walk again properly. There are various nonsurgical treatments and exercises to get rid of this disease.

Causes of spinal stenosis:
It is mainly caused by the degenerative process that manifests in the form of arthritis. The condition is caused by the breakdown of the ligament, the cushiony material between bones and the development of bone tissue. Besides this, the ligaments that hold the bones of the spine together can turn out to be thickened and hardened after some time causing a swell in the spinal canal.

Treatment:
Now, a surgical treatment is available for patients where the ailment can be treated using a small calibre high powered camera (endoscope). The technique creates a tiny 8 mm hole in the back and removes the pressure from the nerves very effectively.

The benefit of the endoscopic technique is that the recovery is faster and the patient can avoid getting a big cut in the spine. The patients even in their eighties and nineties can avail the benefits of surgery with advancement in other allied fields like medicine, cardiology and anaesthesia.

Published : September 7, 2018 5:54 pm | Updated:September 7, 2018 5:54 pm

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