Do I Have Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is diagnosed typically from looking at an MRI along with the usual medical history and physical exam. Spinal stenosis is a closure of the spinal canal. This can result from inflammation of certain ligaments, spinal degeneration, disc bulging and/or disc herniations, spinal deformities, or possibly a tumor.

Imagine a hose, water can travel through it with no difficulty. Now put a bunch of crud at one pint in the hose, or kink the hose and you start to get problems. Your spinal cord carrying important nerve impulses travels down this canal; any blockage inhibits the flow of this information.

Due to low back stenosis, you can get pressure causing back pain, leg numbness, or something even worse. Typically the pressure from stenosis is gradual. The scary thing is that this pressure can be building and you don’t necessarily know it. Then eventually when the stenosis becomes sever and the pressure on the nerves is more severe or more continuous, then you get symptoms. Symptoms like back pain, sciatica, leg numbness, or something similar.



Surgery may be recommended if bowel or bladder control is lost, or if there is a tumor, or severe stenosis is discovered. Mild-moderate, and even in some cases of severe lumbar stenosis, the following treatments may provide significant relief:
1. Chiropractic care- which has been proven to be the most effective and safest treatment for lower back issues.
2. Physical Therapy or specific lower back exercises- this helps restore ranges of motion and strengthens lower back muscles needed to heal the back.
3. Lumbar Inversion- a form of lumbar traction that’s cheap, effective, and easy to do.
4. Lumbar Spinal Decompression- (Non-Surgical Decompression with the DRX9000). This is my favorite option because it has an extremely high success rate with very low recurrence rate of back pain or leg pain. Much more effective than simple traction or inversion, but you have to find a medical doctor or chiropractor that provides this service.


CT Spine and Disc Center is located in central Connecticut- Specializing in patients who suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine. Call us at 860-633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression

Additional Reading Resources:

• Glossary of terms like stenosis
  
• Lose the Back Pain System
  
• Information on Neck Pain
  
• Understanding Non Surgical Spinal Decompression: FAQ's
  
• Research about Non Surgical Spinal Decompression
  

Save this to Del.icio.us Digg This ! Subscribe to CT Spine & Disc Center by Email Subscribe in a reader