When Spinal Stenosis Is Serious If a spinal nerve or the spinal cord is compressed for long enough, permanent numbness and/or paralysis can occur.
What is the main cause of spinal stenosis?
The most common cause of spinal stenosis is osteoarthritis, the gradual wear and tear that happens to your joints over time. Spinal stenosis is common because osteoarthritis begins to cause changes in most people’s spines by age 50.
Is spinal stenosis curable?
Treatment usually starts with nonsurgical options and may move to surgical options if other methods no longer relieve your pain. Although there is no cure for spinal stenosis, exercise to keep your muscles strong, improve your flexibility and reduce pain.
How do you sleep with spinal stenosis?
People with spinal stenosis should consider sleep in the fetal position, or in an adjustable bed that allows the head and knees to be elevated. This relieves the pressure on the spinal nerves. When patients have hip pain, the best sleeping position is on their sides with a pillow between their knees.
Does heat help spinal stenosis pain?
Heating over tight muscles in the lower back is often an effective way to achieve relief from spinal stenosis pain, as heating relaxes the muscles. Heating the affected area stimulates blood flow, which promotes and accelerates the healing process.
What is spinal stenosis and what causes it?
Spinal stenosis is most commonly caused by wear-and-tear changes in the spine related to osteoarthritis. In severe cases of spinal stenosis, doctors may recommend surgery to create additional space for the spinal cord or nerves.
What is the best treatment for severe spinal stenosis?
Most cases of spinal stenosis can be treated with a combination of nonsurgical treatments, such as physical therapy, pain medication, activity modification, and/or epidural injections. When severe pain and/or neurological deficits continue to worsen despite nonsurgical treatments, surgery may be considered.
What happens if spinal stenosis is left untreated?
Not every case of spinal stenosis is critical, but if left untreated it can result in nerve “death”. This results in permanent loss of feeling and mobility. So diagnosis, therapy and other treatment are important in stopping or slowing its progression.
Does spinal stenosis go away on its own?
Answer: Unfortunately, there’s currently no cure for degenerative disc disease (DDD), and once you’re diagnosed with DDD, it’s typically a lifelong journey of learning to live with back pain, neck pain, or other symptoms. Once your discs begin to degenerate, you can’t really reverse the process.
