Norwalk
Spinal stenosis is a common condition and affects around 11% of older adults in the United States. It occurs if there is too much narrowing of the space around your spinal cord. This irritates your spinal cord, as well as the nerves branching off of it. This condition causes symptoms like tingling in your legs or arms or pain in your back or neck. There are numerous causes of spinal stenosis and different treatments.
Spinal stenosis can lead to pain that can affect your ability to enjoy life and work. It’s important that if you experience any symptoms of this condition, you see an experienced spinal stenosis specialist in Norwalk, CT area, like CT Spine & Orthopedic, right away for a complete exam to come up with a treatment plan.
Spinal stenosis is often caused by spinal wear and tear associated with osteoarthritis. Therefore, it’s more likely to occur as you get older. Individuals over the age of 50 are more at risk for spinal stenosis in Norwalk, CT.
Some causes of this condition include:
Arthritis-related wear-and-tear damage can lead to an extra growth of bone on your spine known as bone spurs. These may push into your spinal canal.
Between your spinal bones you have soft cushions called discs that work like shock absorbers. If part of the inner material of the disc leaks out, it may press on the nerves or spinal cord.
You have strong cords holding your spinal bones together. These can become thick and stiff over time. Thick ligaments may also push into your spinal canal.
Trauma, like car accidents, can cause your spinal bones to move out of place or break. Swelling of the neighboring tissue following back surgery may place pressure on your nerves or spinal cord.
Spinal stenosis symptoms can occur when the spaces inside your spine narrow, frequently in the neck or lower back. This narrowing places pressure on your spine and associated structures. Symptoms often develop and slowly progress over a period of time for most individuals.
The symptoms you develop will depend on which spinal area you’re experiencing narrowing. Spinal stenosis symptoms in your lower back may include:
Spinal stenosis symptoms in your neck can include:
Standing, walking, or extending your lumbar spinal area can lead to symptoms that worsen. Flexing your lower back or neck or sitting can relieve symptoms. This flexed position will help to open up your spinal column and enlarge the vertebral spaces at the back of your spine.
Medication, physical therapy, and exercise are common treatments to help relieve symptoms. If conservative treatments don’t work or your symptoms worsen or are severe, your doctor may recommend surgery.
Common types of spine surgery include:
This decompression procedure is a common type of spinal stenosis surgery. The surgeon removes the lamina (portion of your vertebra) during this surgery. They might also remove some bone spurs and ligaments. The surgery makes room for your nerves and spinal cord.
This procedure is a partial laminectomy where the surgeon will remove only a small portion of your lamina where the most pressure is being placed on the nerve.
Surgeons use spinal fusion as the last treatment option. They’ll only resort to this procedure if your spinal stenosis causes radiating nerve pain if your spine isn’t stable and if other types of treatment are ineffective. Spinal fusion fuses two vertebrae together permanently.
This procedure is just for cervical spinal stenosis. Your surgeon will remove part of your lamina in order to get more canal space. They will use metal screws and plates to create a hinged bridge across the space where the bone was removed.
Most cases present a good prognosis for this condition. Many individuals with spinal stenosis go on to live full and active lives with only non-surgical approaches. But, it’s essential to remember that each person will experience spinal stenosis differently, so not all treatments will work for everyone.
The highly skilled Norwalk, CT spinal stenosis specialists at CT Spine & Orthopedic have many years of experience in minimally invasive spine procedures. Our approaches can help patients receive the treatment they require in a minimally invasive way. This helps reduce your recovery time and speed up healing.
Minimally invasive procedures allow you to alleviate your spinal stenosis symptoms and get back to working and living a quality life. Give our experienced surgical team a call at (866) 553-0612 or fill out our online form to schedule your initial consultation to discuss your spinal stenosis case.
