What Causes Spinal Stenosis

What causes spinal stenosis

The word “Stenosis” itself has its origin from Greek Language. This is defined as the narrowing of what is otherwise a larger opening. This opening in the spinal canal is used by the nerves to exit the spinal column. While natural aging process is the more common cause for this ailment, congenital conditions are also known to be among the causes and some people are genetically predisposed to this condition. The major indicators of spinal stenosis are the spinal nerves becoming compressed or trapped on account of the neuroforamen being partially or completely closed.

Symptoms:

The symptoms of spinal stenosis broadly are:-
Numbness
Weakness
Burning, tingling and a pin and needle sensation generally on leg/legs.

There is an interesting comparison of spinal stenosis to a wearing a pair of shoes that is marginally smaller to the individual’s normal size. The marginal deficiency in size will demand extra pressure on the feet. The feet then reacts to this pressure by swelling making the shoe even tighter in turn. When the swelling reaches a certain degree, pain will increase in tandem making walking difficult or even impossible. If this picture is adapted to spinal stenosis, we can look at the feet as nerves, inflammation to swelling, and pain caused to nerve compression.

Some patients have reported that the pain from their spinal stenosis eases when bending forward or sitting. The reason for this is in the sitting posture or the bending action, more space is created between the vertebrae which at times tend to temporarily relieve the nerve compression.

Spinal stenosis is generally found in the lumbar segment, though it can typically affect all sections of your spine. A person with lumbar spinal stenosis can feel the pain in the buttocks, thighs, and calves while walking or standing. Cervical spinal stenosis affecting the upper extremities along with the back is the less common form. However, a severe form of cervical spinal stenosis can affect the body from the neck down.

An MRI or a CT scan can be performed to confirm the symptoms and decide whether a patient is suffering from spinal stenosis. Where conventional treatments fail, surgery can be carried out to enlarge the area required for the exiting nerves. The procedure will help relieve the nerve compression.

Foraminal Stenosis:

Foraminal stenosis is quite similar to spinal stenosis, but singled out primarily because it will affect one or more vertebral foramen. In a normal spine there will be enough room for the nerve roots to exit through the foramen. As we age, the foramen can get clogged with debris and trap and compress the nerves in the process.

 Through the lateral foramen, when the nerve root leaves the canal, chances are that a bone spur may have developed as a result of degenerating disc and may press on that nerve root. This ranks as the most common form of spinal stenosis and is called lateral spinal stenosis. On examining foraminal stenosis a majority of cases will be found to occur at the lowest lumbar level of the back. A major part of the sciatic nerve is compromised when the emerging nerve root in this area is trapped.

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