Symptoms of Spinal Stenosis
Many people who have spinal stenosis do not experience any symptoms unless the spinal cord or nerves becomes squeezed. Symptoms include:
Cervical Spinal Stenosis
- Stiffness, pain, numbness, or weakness in the neck, shoulders, arms, hands, or legs.
- Balance and coordination problems, such as shuffling or tripping while walking. Cervical spinal stenosis can be crippling if the spinal cord is damaged.
- Loss of bowel or bladder control (incontinence).
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
- Numbness, weakness, cramping, or pain in the legs, feet, or buttocks. These symptoms get worse when you walk, stand straight, or lean backward. The pain gets better when you sit down or lean forward.
- Stiffness in the legs and thighs.
- Low back pain.
- In severe cases, loss of bladder and bowel control.
Screening & Diagnosing Spinal Stenosis
Your doctor can tell if you have cervical or lumbar spinal stenosis by asking questions about your symptoms and past health and by doing a physical exam.
You will probably need imaging tests such as an MRI, a CT scan, and sometimes X-rays.
Treating Spinal Stenosis
For most cases of spinal stenosis, symptoms can be controlled with medicine, exercise and physical therapy.
In severe cases, pain specialists will develop a care plan, but innovative, minimally-invasive sursgery may be necessary to relieve pressure to restore normal function of the legs. Surgery involves removing some of the disc, bone and/or tissue that may be pressing on the nerve roots. Vertebrae are often joined together surgically (fused) to provide stability to the spine.