How many people have cervical stenosis

As we age, the bony and ligamentous support of our spinal canal hypertrophies or builds up. Over time, the hypertrophy of these structures may, as an unwanted side effect, compromise the size of the canal through which the nerves travel. The patient will experience a progressive combination of back and leg pain or heaviness that comes on with standing and walking and is relieved by sitting or lying down.

Spinal stenosis is painful, but not like you would think. It doesn't typically blow the patient away with its intensity, rather it wears the patient down with its persistence. Modern medicine has undergone many triumphs with regard to disease treatment. As a surgeon 20 years into my career, I find that it is the promotion of health rather than the treatment of disease that resonates with my sensibilities.

More and more, I view surgery as providing my patients an opportunity to promote their health. I have often jokingly demoted the status of surgery to "merely a preparation for physical therapy.

Spinal stenosis surgery is the paradigm for such a demotion. We now have ways to restore our patient's potential for vitality in a minimally invasive way. Many people have mild stenosis and never become symptomatic, or have mild symptoms which are not bothersome enough to seek treatment.

Even if symptoms occur which are severe enough to seek treatment, they can usually be controlled with a combination of medication and physical therapy. We work closely with you and many different health care practicioners to choose the treatment plan best suited to your needs.

If surgery is ultimately necessary, there are two basic surgeries that are performed, with several variations to each one. Depending on the cause and location of the stenosis, surgery may be performed from the front, known as anterior cervical fusion.

Surgery may also be performed from the back of the neck, commonly called a posterior laminectomy. But one sign of spinal stenosis is more blatant than the rest: "It sounds kind of funny, but we often ask people if they get relief when they lean on a shopping card.

If someone can walk for a longer period of time or with less pain when they're leaning forward on a shopping cart, it's a sign they have the ailment," said Dr. No one wants to hear that a disease can't yet be cured, but in most cases of spinal stenosis, nothing can make the spinal column go back to the structure it had when you were younger. Hennenhoefer says you can live a normal life with a spinal stenosis diagnosis and can work on improving your mobility and comfort.

There are entire textbooks written about the topic," said Gianni Vishteh, MD, a neurosurgeon and an independent member of the HonorHealth medical staff. There are multiple treatment modalities for each cause, so talking to a doctor about your situation is important. The first course of treatment for spinal stenosis is physical therapy along with pain and anti-inflammatory medication.

When they do occur, they often start gradually and worsen over time. Symptoms vary depending on the location of the stenosis and which nerves are affected. As your spine ages, it's more likely to experience bone spurs or herniated disks. These problems can reduce the amount of space available for your spinal cord and the nerves that branch off it. The backbone spine runs from your neck to your lower back. The bones of your spine form a spinal canal, which protects your spinal cord nerves.

Some people are born with a small spinal canal. But most spinal stenosis occurs when something happens to narrow the open space within the spine. Causes of spinal stenosis may include:. Most people with spinal stenosis are over the age of Though degenerative changes can cause spinal stenosis in younger people, other causes need to be considered. These include trauma, congenital spinal deformity such as scoliosis, and a genetic disease affecting bone and muscle development throughout the body.

Spinal imaging can differentiate these causes. Spinal stenosis care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Spinal stenosis Open pop-up dialog box Close. Spinal stenosis Spinal stenosis occurs when the space within the spinal canal or around the nerve roots becomes narrowed.