Can spinal stenosis affect your feet?

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

This lower back condition refers to the spinal nerve roots being compressed or choked, which may lead to referred foot pain symptoms including weakness, numbness and a tingling sensation in the foot.

Can spinal stenosis cause neuropathy in feet?

Yes, this is certainly possible. If your spinal stenosis is pinching your sciatic nerve – a nerve that originates in your lower (lumbar) spine – you might feel pain or have numbness, tingling or muscle weakness along this nerve's pathway from your lower back, down your leg to your foot.

Does spinal stenosis get worse with walking?

Spinal stenosis is caused by a narrowing of your spinal canal. This narrowing can irritate the nerves that travel down your legs. Symptoms are typically worse when you walk.

What part of the spine affects feet?

Nerve root irritation or compression in the lumbar or sacral spine (lower back) may cause sciatica pain to radiate down your leg and into the foot. Specifically, compression of the S1 nerve root, also called classic sciatica, can cause pain along the outer side of your foot.

Does spinal stenosis cause leg and foot pain?

Spinal stenosis, involving pressure on either the central spinal cord or nerve root exiting the spinal canal, can cause a variety of symptoms in the lower extremities. A classic symptom is that of neurogenic claudication, involving leg pain and weakness brought on by walking.

Five Signs that Spinal Stenosis Is Causing Your Back

Can stenosis cause numb feet?

Spinal stenosis occurs when the gaps between the vertebrae, or spinal bones, narrow. This narrowing compresses the spinal canal, causing it to pinch on the spinal cord and nerve roots. It may result in pain, weakness, or numbness, often in the legs and feet.

How do you get rid of nerve pain in your foot?

Home-based treatments for the condition include applying ice, taking anti-inflammatory medications, and stretching the foot daily. Your doctor may be able to ease pain with corticosteroid injections, physical therapy, orthotics, or surgery. Learn more about plantar fasciitis.

What is considered severe spinal stenosis?

Symptoms of Severe Spinal Stenosis

When spinal stenosis progresses to the severe stage, that means there has been substantial narrowing of the spinal canal. This can occur due to several different factors, but is most commonly caused by degeneration of the discs, vertebrae and spinal ligaments.

What are the final stages of spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis, often an end stage of the spine degenerative process, is characterized by leg pain with walking. Pain will go away with rest but you may have to specifically sit down to ease the leg pain.

Which disc causes foot pain?

So when one isn't functioning properly, it affects the other. Common low back conditions that cause pain and other symptoms in the foot include: Bulging Lumbar Disc. Herniated Lumbar Disc.

What activities should be avoided with spinal stenosis?

How can you tell if your spinal stenosis is getting worse?

Call your provider if you have symptoms of spinal stenosis. More serious symptoms that need prompt attention include: Difficulty or poor balance when walking. Worsening numbness and weakness of your limb.

Can you lose your ability to walk with spinal stenosis?

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.

Can spinal stenosis cause tingling in hands and feet?

Numbness and tingling in the hands may be present. Severe spinal stenosis in the cervical spine can lead to pinching of the spinal cord, causing hand numbness, and loss of fine coordination. The coordination of walking may also be affected if there is pinching of the spinal cord. This condition is called myelopathy.

Can spinal cord compression cause numbness in feet?

Spinal cord compression is caused by a condition that puts pressure on your spinal cord. Symptoms such as pain, numbness, or weakness in the arms, hands, legs, or feet can come on gradually or more suddenly, depending on the cause.

Can you have permanent nerve damage from spinal stenosis?

Without treatment, spinal stenosis may lead to permanent nerve damage. Stenosis may develop in any part of the spine, though it is most common in the lower back (lumbar spine) or in the neck (cervical spine).

What is the life expectancy of someone with spinal stenosis?

Answer: Yes, you do have to live with it for the rest of your life. However, many patients with spinal stenosis live life in the absence of pain or with minimal symptoms.

Will I end up in a wheelchair with spinal stenosis?

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.

Can spinal stenosis cause your feet to swell?

Edema in the lower extremities—feet, ankles and legs— is a common problem among patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Does gabapentin help spinal stenosis?

Gabapentin is most effective in relieving neuropathic pain conditions caused by disk herniation, spinal stenosis, diabetic neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia. It provides limited sciatica and fibromyalgia relief, and is ineffective for reducing arthritis-related chronic low back pain.

Does spinal stenosis cause fatigue?

The primary symptom of stenosis at any site is pain and fatigue resulting from pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.

What is the most common treatment for spinal stenosis?

The goals of surgery include relieving the pressure on your spinal cord or nerve roots by creating more space within the spinal canal. Surgery to decompress the area of stenosis is the most definitive way to try to resolve symptoms of spinal stenosis.

What does neuropathy in the feet feel like?

Signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy might include: Gradual onset of numbness, prickling or tingling in your feet or hands, which can spread upward into your legs and arms. Sharp, jabbing, throbbing or burning pain. Extreme sensitivity to touch.

Can an MRI show nerve damage in foot?

An MRI may be able help identify structural lesions that may be pressing against the nerve so the problem can be corrected before permanent nerve damage occurs. Nerve damage can usually be diagnosed based on a neurological examination and can be correlated by MRI scan findings.

What are the symptoms of nerve damage in your feet?

numbness and tingling in the feet or hands. burning, stabbing or shooting pain in affected areas. loss of balance and co-ordination. muscle weakness, especially in the feet.