If your stenosis symptoms don't respond to home remedies or conservative treatment, or if the condition is so painful or debilitating that it affects your daily life, then you likely have severe 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.
If you have lumbar spinal stenosis, you may have trouble walking distances or find that you need to lean forward to relieve pressure on your lower back. You may also have pain or numbness in your legs. In more severe cases, you may have difficulty controlling your bowel and bladder.
They also complain of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, vertigo, sensitivity to sound, light and smells, widespread pain, weakness, clumsiness, balance problems, difficulty with memory and concentration, urinary urgency and frequency, disturbances in bowel habits, and fatigue.
While it doesn't cause active injury or trauma, chronic pain can wear down at you psychologically, and drain your body's resources as it reacts to that pain. Combined with the strain of your body managing the other symptoms of spinal stenosis, it's easy to see why this condition can cause chronic fatigue.
Walking, standing, or extending the lumbar area of the spine can cause symptoms to worsen. Sitting or flexing the lower back or neck may relieve symptoms. The flexed position “opens up” the spinal column, enlarging the spaces between vertebrae at the back of the spine.
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.
Symptoms are more likely to be present or get worse when you stand or walk. They often lessen or disappear when you sit down or lean forward. Most people with spinal stenosis cannot walk for a long period without having significant pain.
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.
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.
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.
Bend forward, backward, and sideways. Your pain may worsen with these movements. Lift your legs straight up while lying down. If the pain is worse when you do this, you may have sciatica, especially if you also feel numbness or tingling in one of your legs.
Lumbar stenosis refers to a back condition that mainly affects the legs. It occurs due to narrowing of the area of the spine that contains the nerves or spinal cord. This can lead to irritation or compression of the nerves which travel down the legs.
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.
Spinal stenosis occurs most often in the lower back and the neck. Some people with spinal stenosis have no symptoms. Others may experience pain, tingling, numbness and muscle weakness. Symptoms can get worse over time.
Symptoms of Severe Spinal Stenosis
As we age, the spinal column can lose its structural integrity and put a great deal of pressure on the nerves. This can lead to excruciating pain that can substantially affect a person's quality of life.
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.
Standing lumbar flexion is a great exercise for individuals with spinal stenosis. To do the exercise: Stand with your feet apart. Slowly bend yourself forward, reaching towards the floor.
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.
Many people with spinal stenosis find the most comfort sleeping on their side in “fetal position” — that is, with knees curled up toward the abdomen. Another alternative is to sleep in an adjustable bed or recliner that allows the head and knees to remain elevated.
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.
Lying down or bending backwards also can make their symptoms worse. People can have difficulty sleeping in bed and resort to sleeping in their recliner in a partial sitting position. In severe cases people can develop problems with bladder control. Some people also experience back pain but many do not.