Yes! Walking is a good exercise for spinal stenosis. It's low impact, and you control the pace and distance. If you're able to walk without symptoms, incorporate this activity into your routine.
Contact sports like basketball, football, soccer, and martial arts are exercises to avoid with spinal stenosis. These activities can involve sudden trauma to the spine, which may lead to further injury. Activities that involve jumping, such as jumping rope, should be avoided with spinal stenosis.
Exercises which flex, stretch or strengthen the back and neck can help to open up the spine, alleviating compression symptoms. Canes and walkers can also be used to walk in a forward flexed manner and provide some stability.
Flare ups may be caused by muscle spasms, which can be caused by bending or twisting suddenly. They may be caused by an additional problem such as a slipped disc. Some patients may just reach a tipping point where their stenosis becomes symptomatic without any identifiable cause or event.
A tightened space can cause the spinal cord or nerves to become irritated, compressed or pinched, which can lead to back pain and sciatica. Spinal stenosis usually develops slowly over time. It is most commonly caused by osteoarthritis or “wear-and-tear” changes that naturally occur in your spine as you age.
In spinal stenosis, people typically experience less pain with leaning forward, and especially with sitting. Studies of the lumbar spine show that leaning forward can increase the space available for the nerves. Pain is usually made worse by standing up straight and walking.
Lumbar interspinous distraction decompression
The procedure is a type of keyhole surgery that a surgeon performs on a person under general anesthesia. One 2021 study reports a 5-year success rate of 68% for this procedure compared to a success rate of 56% for older decompression procedures.
Spinal Stenosis
With this condition, it may be preferable to sleep on the sides with the knees curled up (in the fetal position). This helps relieve pressure on the nerve root. Sleeping in a reclining chair or an adjustable bed that allows the head and knees to remain elevated can also relieve pressure on the nerve.
As a result, climbing stairs reduces the amount of space in the spinal canal. This temporarily exacerbates the effects of spinal stenosis, potentially leading to worsened pain and other symptoms. If you've been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, it's wise to keep climbing stairs to a minimum.
High-impact cardio exercises — Running and jumping are two common examples of high-impact cardio exercises. Walking for long distances can also fall into this category. Such exercises should be avoided by spinal stenosis patients. The reason is that the impact of these exercises compresses the spine.
Spinal stenosis can't be cured but responds to treatment.
"Unfortunately, nothing can stop the progression of spinal stenosis, since it is due to daily wear and tear," said Dr. Hennenhoefer. "The symptoms of spinal stenosis typically respond to conservative treatments, including physical therapy and injections."
One of the ways that spinal stenosis can affect you if it is lower down in your back (the lumbar region) is in the way you walk. Since the lumbar region contains nerves that spread into your hips and legs, it can cause pain, numbness and other challenges that make it difficult to walk.
The two main surgical procedures to treat lumbar spinal stenosis are laminectomy and spinal fusion. Laminectomy: This procedure involves removal of the bone, bone spurs, and ligaments that compress the nerves. Spinal fusion: In this procedure, two or more vertebrae are permanently fused together.
Pain medications may be helpful with relieving spinal stenosis-related back pain, depending on what type of medication it is. Many over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen work well, but there are prescription medications as well, such as Voltaren (diclofenac) and Naproxin (naproxen).
As there is no cure for spinal stenosis, early detection, and treatment of the root cause can provide significant pain relief and improve symptoms.
If you are in pain from spinal stenosis, you probably don't even want to think about exercising. However, as counterintuitive or impossible as it sounds, exercise, stretching, and movement can help relieve your spinal stenosis pain. Exercise, stretching, and movement can help relieve your spinal stenosis pain.
Disability: In severe cases of spinal stenosis, a patient can end up permanently disabled. This may be through paralysis, or weakness so severe that it is impossible to stand and move as normal. It is not unreasonable to expect severe stenosis to lead to a person being bound to a wheelchair.
Symptoms of spinal stenosis in the lower back can include: Pain in the lower back. Burning pain or ache that radiates down the buttocks and into the legs, that typically worsens with standing or walking and gets better with leaning forward (flexion).
Acetaminophen (eg, Tylenol), aspirin, ibuprofen (eg, Motrin, Advil), and naproxen (eg, Aleve) are examples of OTC analgesics that your doctor may recommend for spinal stenosis.