Spinal Stenosis Specialist

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a common source of back and neck pain. It has several causes, all of which result in the spinal canal getting narrower, which can put pressure on the nerves coming off your spinal cord.

Aging tends to be at the root of most cases of spinal stenosis. It causes the spongy discs that cushion your vertebrae to dry out, and years of wear-and-tear harden and flatten the discs. This process affects the alignment of your spine and makes a bulging or herniated disc more likely.

The facet joints that connect your vertebrae might develop osteoarthritis, where the cartilage protecting the bones wears away. Often, your body tries to reinforce the spine by producing bone outgrowths (osteophytes or bone spurs) that further reduce the space in your spinal canal.

Conditions like Paget's disease, which leads to bone overgrowth, spinal tumors, and some kinds of spinal trauma can also result in spinal stenosis.

What symptoms are typical of spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is most likely to occur in your lower back (lumbar spine) or your neck (cervical spine). Depending on whether you have cervical or lumbar stenosis, your symptoms might affect your arms or legs.

Typical symptoms of spinal stenosis include:

• Back or neck pain
• Hip, buttock, or leg pain
• Shoulder, arm, or hand pain
• Sensation of heaviness
• Weakness
• Tingling

Symptoms affecting your lower back and legs tend to worsen when you walk and get better if you sit down. Leaning forward offers relief from spinal stenosis pain as it lessens the pressure on your spinal nerves. 

How is spinal stenosis treated?

When treating spinal stenosis, Dr. Krishnan aims to reduce the pressure on your spinal nerves that's causing your symptoms. Several therapies can help with this, including:

• Anti-inflammatory Medications (Ibuprofen or Celecoxib)
• Anti-convulsant Medications (Gabapentin or Lyrica)
• Spinal Decompression Therapy
• Stretching exercises
• Therapeutic massage

If you're not getting better, Dr. Krishnan can perform an epidural steroid injection or facet joint injection. These contain a local anesthetic for short-term pain relief and a long-lasting steroid medication with a potent anti-inflammatory effect. If the facet joint injections provide short-term relief, this could be followed up with a radiofrequency ablation, a minimally invasive procedure where Dr. Krishnan heats the nerve endings in your spine so they can't send pain messages to your brain. The radiofrequency ablation can proved 6-9 months of pain relief, is some cases, patients can get up to 1 year of pain relief.

If injection treatments are not effective or only provide minimal, short-term relief, you may consider an Endoscopic Lumbar Decompression. This procedure helps by opening up the space in your spine. This minimally invasive procedure involves introducing a pencil-thin cannula over the stenotic interspace and under direct visualization using a camera the thickened ligament is methodically debulked opening up the spinal canal and freeing the compressed nerves.

If you have severe spinal stenosis that doesn't respond to any of these treatment methods, Dr. Krishnan offers advanced solutions like spinal cord stimulation.

If the symptoms of spinal stenosis are causing you distress and affecting your everyday function, call Island Interventional Pain Management or book an appointment online today.