Spine Stenosis

Mild Spinal Canal Stenosis

Not all cases of spinal stenosis are symptomatic; and it is also true that most that do eventually become symptomatic, do so later in life. Stenosis is derived from the Greek word steno, meaning "narrow". Spinal canal stenosis, then, is simply a narrowing of the canal in which the spinal cord rests. Mild spinal canal stenosis means that symptoms are generally either nonexistent or relatively mild.

The pain a patient feels comes from the compression (or pinching) of the nerves that is caused by the narrowing of the spinal canal. Often the pain will be described as a "red hot needle" down the leg, or aching/pain in the low back, more like a burning sensation.

Doctors consider the overall health of the patient when recommending treatment; if the patient is obese and in poor physical condition, vigorous exercise would ill-advised. The patient will probably be started on a course of physical therapy, including range of motion and massage to loosen the muscles of the back and neck.

It is important to get blood flowing to the affected area, whether it be cervical (neck), thoracic (mid back), lumbar (lower back) or sacral (the last few spinal vertebrae). Exercise will be most effective if it progresses slowly; it is also important that the exercise be done consistently. For some patients, this can mean starting with just five minutes' walking every day, or slow swimming - even water walking is effective.

Diagnosis of any spinal canal stenosis would start with an AP or lateral view X-ray. If this fails to show the problem, and the patient continues to be symptomatic, then an MRI would be indicated. Further definitive X-rays would be a CT or PET scan, but as these are prohibitively expensive, caution should be used in recommending them.

An important goal in the use of any imaging studies is to determine whether the patient's condition warrants surgical intervention, or if the patient would be best helped by a course of conservative treatment.

Statistics show that 75% of the adult population is likely to experience some sort of back or neck pain. Most will be helped by rest, ice or heat, analgesics or steroid injections. As noted previously, most patients with mild spinal canal stenosis are asymptomatic (meaning without symptoms). If the patient is fortunate, the worst symptom they will experience is a slight pain on overexertion.

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