Lumbar Canal Stenosis
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Lumbar Canal Stenosis Treatment In Pimpri Chinchwad
“Lumbar Canal Stenosis is a term used to describe a narrowing of the spinal canal. This can be used due to ageing, injury, or degeneration.”
Your spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that runs through a tunnel formed by your vertebrae. The tunnel is called the spinal canal. Lumbar spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower part of your back. Stenosis, which means narrowing, can cause pressure on your spinal cord or the nerves that go from your spinal cord to your muscles.
Spinal stenosis can happen in any part of your spine but is most common in the lower back. This part of your spine is called your lumbar area. Five lumbar vertebrae connect your upper spine to your pelvis.
If you have lumbar spinal stenosis, you may have trouble walking distances or find that you need to lean forward to relieve pressure on your lower back. You may also have pain or numbness in your legs. In more severe cases, you may have difficulty controlling your bowel and bladder. There is no cure for lumbar spinal stenosis, but you have many treatment choices.
How common is Lumbar spinal stenosis?
Degenerative changes of the spine are seen in up to 95% of people by the age of 50. Spinal stenosis most often occurs in adults over 60. Pressure on the nerve roots is equally common in men and women.
A small number of people are born with back problems that develop into lumbar spinal stenosis. This is known as congenital spinal stenosis. Typically, this occurs in people who are born with a smaller spinal canal; because there is less space within the canal, degeneration, or arthritis, can affect them sooner. Congenital spinal stenosis occurs most often in men. People usually first notice symptoms between the ages of 30 and 50.
What are the symtoms?
Early lumbar spinal stenosis may have no symptoms. In most people, symptoms develop gradually over time. Symptoms may include:
- Pain in the back
- Burning pain going into the buttocks and down into the legs (sciatica)
- Numbness, tingling, cramping, or weakness in the legs
- Loss of sensation in the feet
- A weakness in a foot that causes the foot to slap down when walking (“foot drop”)
Pressure on nerves in the lumbar region can also cause more serious symptoms known as cauda equine syndrome. If you have any of these symptoms, you need to get medical attention right away:
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Severe or increasing numbness between your legs, inner thighs, and back of the legs
- Severe pain and weakness that spreads into one or both legs. This makes it hard to walk or get out of a chair.
What are the Lumbar Canal Stenosis treatment options?
Treatment can include physical therapy, medicine, and sometimes surgery. Except in emergencies, such as cauda equina syndrome, surgery is usually the last resort.
- Physical therapy may include exercises to strengthen your back, stomach, and leg muscles. Learning how to do activities safely, using braces to support your back, stretching, and massage may also be helpful.
- Medicines may include nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory medicines that relieve pain and swelling, and steroid injections that reduce swelling.
- Surgical treatments include removing bone spurs and widening the space between vertebrae. The lower back may also be stabilized by fusing together some of the vertebrae.
