Can spinal stenosis cause neuropathy in feet and legs?

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.

Is peripheral neuropathy caused by spinal stenosis?

Central lumbar spinal stenosis compresses the cauda equina; this is similar to peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome. Therefore, severe spinal stenosis has the potential to cause peripheral nerve injury.

How does spinal stenosis affect your feet?

When there's compression of the L4 and L5 nerve roots within the lower spine, you may notice a condition which is referred to as “foot drop”. This condition may cause a feeling of weakness or inability to raise the foot upwards with the toes pointed upwards as well.

Does spinal stenosis affect your legs and feet?

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Symptoms include back pain and numbness, weakness or tingling the legs or feet. Leg pain or cramping may also occur. This may be mistaken for claudication, a symptom of peripheral artery disease (PAD), that causes leg pain or cramping while walking or exercising, but goes away while resting.

Is spinal stenosis the same as neuropathy?

Other symptoms of spinal stenosis can involve paresthesia, weakness or cramping in one or both extremities, rest pain, or burning pain, and are commonly misdiagnosed as peripheral neuropathy, especially in patients with diabetes.

Five Signs that Spinal Stenosis Is Causing Your Back

What spinal nerves affect feet?

The peroneal nerve is a branch of the sciatic nerve. It supplies movement and sensation to the lower leg, foot and toes. Common peroneal nerve dysfunction is a type of peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage outside the brain or spinal cord). This condition can affect people of any age.

Is walking good for spinal stenosis?

Walking is a good exercise for spinal stenosis. It's low impact, and you control the pace and distance.

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.

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 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 causes neuropathy in your feet?

Peripheral neuropathy can result from traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems, inherited causes and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes is diabetes. People with peripheral neuropathy generally describe the pain as stabbing, burning or tingling.

Can spinal stenosis cause nerve damage?

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).

Can spinal stenosis cause poor circulation?

Lumbar spinal stenosis can cause pains in the lower extremities (legs and thighs) which worsen with walking and are relieved with resting (mimicking poor circulation).

Can spinal stenosis cause burning feet?

Signs and Symptoms of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

As it progresses, it can result in pain in the feet. As compression increases, the burning pain will be associated with numbness and tingling.

Can spinal stenosis cause tingling in hands and feet?

Depending on where and how severe your spinal stenosis is, you might feel pain, numbing, tingling and/or weakness in your neck, back, arms, legs, hands or feet.

What activities should be avoided with spinal stenosis?

What is the best sleeping position for spinal stenosis?

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.

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.

Does gabapentin help with spinal stenosis?

Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug originally intended for seizures. It's most effective for treating neuropathic back pain caused by disk herniation and consequent sciatica, as well as spinal stenosis, diabetic neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia.

What is the newest treatment for spinal stenosis?

Interspinous spacers are a new approach to treating spinal stenosis that work gently and in a targeted way by opening the spinal canal to create room and reduce pressure on crowded nerves. A spinous process is the part of your vertebra that projects backward from your vertebral arch.

Does spinal stenosis hurt all the time?

Some people with spinal stenosis may not have symptoms. Others may experience pain, tingling, numbness and muscle weakness. Symptoms can worsen over time.

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.

Can stenosis cause weak legs?

Arthritis, falls, accidents and wear and tear on the bones and joints in the spine also play a part in stenosis. As the lumbar spinal canal shrinks, the nerves that go through it are squeezed. This squeezing may cause back pain, leg pain and leg weakness. Many adults have this kind of stenosis.

Is Climbing stairs good for spinal stenosis?

In essence, walking uphill and doing stairs decreases the space in your already-narrowed spinal channels. With spinal stenosis, you may also have pain when you're walking normally—but generally, that's when you're walking a longer distance (as in longer than from your car to the house).

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.