Spinal Stenosis Treatment

Spinal Stenosis Treatment

Different factors like what type of spinal stenosis is present and the seriousness of the patient's symptoms often determine the specific spinal stenosis treatment. When the spinal nerve roots in the lower back are compressed, lumbar stenosis may prompt back pain, leg pain (sciatica), difficulty walking, and other symptoms that are typically first handled with non-surgical spinal stenosis treatments like exercise, anti-inflammatory medications, and epidural injections. If these spinal stenosis treatments do not prove effective over time, surgery may be considered for the lumbar spinal stenosis.

When the spinal cord in the neck is compressed, cervical stenosis occurs. Treatment may not even be necessary if the cervical stenosis is asymptomatic (meaning that there is no symptomatic evidence of the stenosis). However, if cervical stenosis with myelopathy (spinal cord dysfunction that occurs as a result of the compression) is present, a surgical opinion is typically necessary.