Cervical spine stenosis appears to be very common and it estimated that cervical stenosis is present in: 4.9% of the adult population, 6.8% of the population fifty years of age or older. 9% of the population seventy years of age or older.
If untreated, this can lead to significant and permanent nerve damage including paralysis and death. Symptoms may affect your gait and balance, dexterity, grip strength and bowel or bladder function. It can cause pain, weakness, or sensory changes in either your arms or legs.
Also called cervical spinal stenosis, or simply spinal stenosis, the condition is most common in adults ages 30-50 and affects about twice as many men as women. And while neck pain is a common primary symptom, cervical stenosis can gradually cause many more symptoms that affect much of your body.
Symptoms. Symptoms of cervical stenosis are related to abnormal compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots. Neck pain, pain in one or both arms, and an electrical sensation that shoots down the back when the head moves are common painful sensations in patients with spinal stenosis.
Treatment of Cervical Spinal Stenosis
Mild stenosis can be treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, posture improvement, and physical therapy. But more serious cases will require spinal surgery to relieve the compression.
Usually, our spine specialists consider surgery only if symptoms such as weakness, numbness, or pain in the arms or legs indicate severe or progressive nerve or spinal cord compression.
"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."
Aging and Age-Related Changes in the Spine
They are the most common causes of spinal stenosis. As people age, the ligaments that keep the vertebrae of the spine in place may thicken and calcify (harden from deposits of calcium salts). Bones and joints may also enlarge.
What is the best sleeping position for neck pain? Two sleeping positions are easiest on the neck: on your side or on your back. If you sleep on your back, choose a rounded pillow to support the natural curve of your neck, with a flatter pillow cushioning your head.
Avoid cradling your neck to your ear during calls, carrying overly heavy weights on your head, or one shoulder bag. These postures exert hyperextension stretches and impinge the nerve which in time paramount the joint stiffness and cervical spinal stenosis.
These treatments often can relieve symptoms of mild spinal stenosis. But for individuals like you who have complaints that grow steadily worse, surgery may be necessary to prevent permanent spinal cord or nerve root damage, and relieve — or at least stabilize — symptoms.
Physical stress gradually contributes to spinal degeneration, which can lead to spinal stenosis. However, people often overlook the fact that psychological stress can also trigger spinal stenosis, for a few different reasons. For one, emotional stress tends to make people tense their muscles.
Stage 3 – Stabilization
Bone spurs continue to grow and can narrow the spinal canal, which presses onto the spinal cord or nerve roots. This condition, called spinal stenosis, triggers pressure that can cause limb pain, tingling, and numbness. During this stage, patients may find they lose control of the legs.
Most people have good results from surgery and are able to return to a normal lifestyle after they heal. People tend to have less leg pain and can walk better afterward. However, surgery doesn't cure arthritis or other conditions that might have caused the spinal canal to narrow in the first place.
While a spinal stenosis diagnosis will stay with you for life, many patients with spinal stenosis live life in the absence of pain or with minimal symptoms, thanks to a variety of treatment options.
Idiopathic subglottic stenosis (ISS) refers to narrowing of the upper trachea of unknown cause. The disease is rare, with an estimated incidence of 1 per 400,000 person-years.
Using heat or cold therapy for managing spinal stenosis is a common recommendation for pain relief. Heat therapy can relax muscles and stimulate blood flow to the affected area, helping to promote healing. Cold therapy can help to numb the affected area, leading to pain relief.
You can feel symptoms of cervical spinal stenosis anywhere below the point of the nerve compression in your neck. Symptoms include: Neck pain. Numbness or tingling in your arm, hand, leg or foot.
Bending forward helps take the pressure off the neural segments (spinal cord, spinal nerve roots) but this compensatory posture has some obvious drawbacks. The use of a corset or brace has been shown to aid patients by decreasing the pain, thus making it possible to stand upright and walk unassisted.
Running is a high-impact activity that causes repeated impacts on the spine. This can worsen back pain and neurological symptoms from spinal stenosis. While short walks are considered a good option for exercise with spinal stenosis, it's wise to avoid prolonged walks.
Stage 3: Severe pain, stiffness, and very limited movement intensifies. You may also notice loss of sensation in the affected arm, wrist, and fingers. Stage 4: You may feel less pain in stage 4. Although this might seem welcome, it means that your stenosis has progressed to such a degree that nerve damage has occurred.
One of the condition's characteristics is that it worsens with time if you don't try any medically proven remedies. The fact is that it will never just go away without any intervention since it is termed to be a progressive condition.
Many people with mild spinal stenosis find that nonsurgical treatments such as pain medication and physical therapy relieve symptoms and help them remain active.
Most people with this condition live normal, active lives. So, the question is, “Do you have cervical spinal stenosis?”. Read on and if any of what follows sounds familiar, visiting your doctor for medical imaging diagnostics and an examination is a right thing to do.