Spinal Stenosis And The Healing Powers Of Chiropractic

If you just received a diagnosis of spinal stenosis, you're probably a bit worried about what that means for your quality of life. It's important to know everything you can about your condition, so you can cope with it the best way possible and do everything you can to keep the pain it causes at a minimum. Here is some information about what spinal stenosis is and what you can do for treatment.

Defining Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of your spinal column. Basically, your spinal column is abnormally narrowing along the inside, and it's putting pressure on your spinal cord. There are two different types of spinal stenosis that you could have: lumbar spinal stenosis and cervical spinal stenosis.

Lumbar Vs. Cervical Stenosis

Lumbar stenosis is where many of the nerve roots in your lower back are compressed together. Lumbar stenosis most commonly occurs in L3-L-4 and L-4 to L-5. The compression of the nerves often causes symptoms of sciatica. This is where you could get pain, tingling, and weakness that shoots down the lower back through your buttocks and your legs. The pain often increases with activity. You may have noticed leg pain just from walking around. A trip to the grocery store might feel like an intense workout. It's a symptom of the compressed nerves caused by lumbar stenosis.

Cervical stenosis is a bit different. The pain is much more severe, and could result in invasive treatment. If you have cervical stenosis and feel pain and weakness, you need to tell your doctor immediately. Cervical stenosis can lead to paralysis if gone untreated.

Treatment

Lumbar spinal stenosis often goes untreated. Most doctors will enroll you into a pain management program and you might receive pain medication to help you go about your daily activities. They might start you on something like aspirin or ibuprofen. If the pain is still too much for you to handle, you might be gradually moved up to narcotics like hydrocodone or oxycodone. Chiropractors are wonderful for treating the spinal stenosis pain. Spinal adjustments can take the pressure off the spine and relieve most of the severe pain through the body.

Both rest and exercise are important for spinal stenosis. It's difficult to engage in exercise when you're in pain, but after a while, your strengthened body will help you feel a lot better. If you get to the point where the pain is unbearable, or you have symptoms from cervical stenosis, you might need surgery. There are traditional and laser surgeries available to take the pressure off of the nerves. For more information about spinal stenosis treatment, contact a chiropractic clinic such as Charles C Gerleman Chiropractic Clinic to make an appointment. 

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