Spine Stenosis

Recess Spinal Stenosis

Let us not get confused here about the meaning of the word 'recess'. In this case, it does not mean several hundred children at play in the middle of their school day; rather, it means the groove in the vertebra between the back and front parts, where the nerve root branches off the spinal cord. Recess spinal stenosis, or as it is more commonly known, lateral recess stenosis, means that the recess (or groove) is narrowed. This can be due to a number of different factors, most commonly degenerative changes due to aging.

These degenerative changes are most commonly attributed to osteoarthritis, or inflammation of the bone, resulting in bony growths which impinge on the nerves arising from the spinal cord. This results in pain and stiffness to the patient, and often means impaired function to one degree or another.

Another cause of spinal stenosis can be a herniated disc. This causes the disc to bulge into the spinal canal and press upon the spinal cord, causing pain, inability to function normally, and possibly even paraparesis (paralysis).

So now that we have identified the problem of recess spinal stenosis and understand a little about some of its causes, there is one question yet to be answered: what can you do about this problem?

The answer is as complex as the problem, really. It depends upon how much impairment the patient experiences - in other words, what effect does spinal stenosis have upon the patient's daily life and quality of that life? If the answer is that it has minimal effect, well, chances are that the patient will be fine with just physical therapy, exercise, possibly analgesics or injecting corticosteroids into the intervertebral spaces.

If the patient is obese, weight loss would be beneficial; not only would it improve overall quality of life, but weight loss would relieve pressure on the spine caused by weight bearing.

Surgery would be the option of last resort as it can cause still more problems, and there is the risk of infection as well as the length of time required for healing and rehabilitation.

A combination, then, of physical therapy, moderate exercise, weight loss, and pain relief (with analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications) would seem to be the most beneficial course of action for the patient experiencing recess spinal stenosis.

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