Spinal Stenosis

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a condition that causes the spine to narrow, resulting in pain in the lower back, buttock, and leg. Spinal stenosis is most often due to a deterioration of the spine caused by the aging process, or spinal conditions such as arthritis.

As you get older, the discs that cushion the vertebrae start to dry out, causing them to lose height and encroach on the spinal canal. The facet joints in your spine and the ligaments connecting them can also become thicker, again pressing on the spinal canal.

These changes in the structure of your spine put pressure on the nerves in and around your spinal cord, causing the pain of spinal stenosis.

What are the symptoms of spinal stenosis?

Some people who have spinal stenosis don’t experience any symptoms, but in those that do, typical symptoms are:

• Gradually worsening pain in the back, buttock, and leg
• Pain that worsens during physical activity
• Leg heaviness
• Numbness or weakness in the leg
• Muscle cramps

If you have spinal stenosis, bending forward or sitting down often relieves the symptoms by taking pressure off the spinal cord.

How is spinal stenosis diagnosed?

When you see your pain specialist at Chicagoland Pain Management, they carry out a physical exam and go over your medical history and current symptoms with you.

Your doctor takes X-rays to get a better view of the vertebrae and see if there is any narrowing of the spine. They may order a myelogram, which uses an injectable dye that shows up on X-ray and highlights areas of pressure caused by herniated discs, tumors, or bone spurs.

Your doctor may also want to see a bone scan to check for fractures, infections, arthritis, or tumors, or scans such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to get a clearer view of the spine.

How is spinal stenosis treated?

The pain specialists at Chicagoland Pain Management can help relieve the pain of spinal stenosis using treatments such as:

• Pain medication
• Anti-inflammatories
• Physical therapy
• Fitting a back brace
• Epidural steroid injections
• Minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD)

Chicagoland Pain Management can also offer the innovative Superion® Indirect Decompression System by Vertiflex®, which is an implant specifically designed to relieve the pain caused by spinal stenosis.

If you have back pain, don’t delay in seeking treatment. Call Chicagoland Pain Management today, or book an appointment online.