Lumbar Stenosis with its Causes/Symptoms/Treatment

In the medical area, stenosis refers to the abnormal narrowing of a body channel. When combined with the word spinal, it defines a narrowing of the bone channel occupied by the spinal cord or the spinal nerves. Few people are born with the shape of congenital. But most of the people improve lumbar stenosis as a part of the degenerative cascade. A small group of people doesn’t have any effect of narrowing, but those who are aged will gradually feel weakness, radiating pain or numbness secondary to the compression of the nerves or spinal cord.

 

Besides, the spinal canal stenos or lumbar spine is a narrowing of the space within the vertebrae through the nerves to the legs. Under normal conditions, the spinal canal has a diameter of 1 centimetre. At a certain moment or due to different causes, this area is in continuous movement and can begin to narrow, compressing all the nerves that go towards the lower extremities. Here we’ve mentioned the actual causes of lumbar pain and its symptoms.

 

 Why does spinal canal or lumbar stenosis occur?

Several reasons causelumbar decompression:

 

–Congenital: the spine is not perfectly well formed or developed.

 

—Bone wear or vertebral arthrosis: With age, the column loads and becomes weaker so that the body tries to reinforce it in two ways:

Generating more bone: a natural defence that becomes a drawback when the bone invades areas that should not, such as the spinal canal

Generating new ligaments to keep the spine straight: These ligaments are the soft part that supports the spine and can get to oppress nerves.

 

–Disc Protrusion happens when the intervertebral disc sheath overflows and invades the canal.

 

–Spondylolisthesis: one vertebra slides over another, producing Anterolistsis. When it is forward or retrolithesis, it is backward.

 

 

Symptoms of lumbar canal stenosis

 What does the patient feel about spinal canal stenosis? Generally, people who suffer from this disorder can have the following symptoms:

 

–Pain in both legs

 

–Inability to move well

 

–Loss of stability

 

–Neurogenic claudication or shop window disease, similar to the disorder at the vascular level. The affected person can only walk a few meters until a moment determining in which they begin to annoy and hurt their legs. He can not keep walking and has to stand and pretend to be watching the windows. As soon as it is still, the nerve is stopped, and the pain disappears so you can walk again. The problem is that, if left untreated, it increases and produces more painful and disabling episodes.

 

–Sciatic-like pain:   The stenosis goes to one side, compressing the space between the vertebrae, and that pain affects only one of the legs. It is similar to neurogenic claudication, but the pain is on one leg rather than in both.

 

 

How is lumbar canal stenosis diagnosed?

The canal stenosis is diagnosed by comparing two imaging tests, an image of INEAMAD and CAT. We can clearly see the bony part, and Magnetic Resonance allows us to distinguish the soft tissues, lumbar canal, and ligaments. Comparing these two tests, we can accurately diagnose the lumbar canal and its level of commitment.

 

Treatments for lumbar canal stenosis

Stenosis of the spinal canal has a wide range of solutions:

 

Postural hygiene: Prevention should be the first step, such as taking care of the spine and keeping it straight when working in front of the computer, at the office table or watching television.

The lumbar spine is usually shaped like an arch (lumbar lordosis). That is to say, it is thrown forward and has behind it the bowstring that is the muscles. People should get upright and keep their muscles well.

 

Exercise: The goal is not to reach age 80 with this type of disorder but avoid it since the age of 50, so walking steadily, two or three times a day is advisable. It’s not necessary to have a four-hour walk at the weekend according to the doctor, because the vertebrae are annoying.

 

Drugs and rehabilitation: Solve a large percentage of these types of problems and prevent the disorder from progressing.

 

Surgery: For those cases where conservative treatment has not worked, we recommend the least aggressive surgical intervention that eliminates hypertrophy and places some device that fixes the spine.

The most minimally invasive surgery practised today is laminectomy, in which part of the vertebral bone is removed on one side to make room for the nerve, and a screw is placed on the bone of two vertebrae, which is fixed with a bar.

 

To facilitate the surgical intervention, in the Neurosurgery service, you would find the latest technology:

 

–Navigators to guide the surgeon in the location of injuries

–Surgical microscopes s

–Extremely sophisticated neurochemical motors with diamond-tipped electric drills to remove bone

–Special operating table, where the patient is leaning on the shoulders and hip so that the abdomen and chest are relaxed, and in which the patient’s eyes are protected

 

Thanks to the surgery, lumbar stenosis patients get rid of suffering pain, having a poor quality of life and staying locked at home, walking in less than a week after the operation and finding themselves perfectly well in the month of the intervention. Be careful before taking any treatment; consult with doctors or health specialists.