Can spinal stenosis cause walking problems?

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 stenosis affect walking?

Spinal stenosis can affect walking in different ways depending on its location within the spine, for example: Lumbar spinal stenosis (in the lower back) may cause gait problems due to foot drop. The condition may also cause weakness in thigh and leg muscles, such as the quadriceps and the calves.

Does spinal stenosis affect mobility?

People with spinal stenosis tend to have limited mobility in not only the low back, but also the hips, mid back, knees and ankles can be stiff. Improving movement in these areas through manual therapy and exercise can help improve spinal stenosis symptoms.

Does spinal stenosis make your legs weak?

Symptoms of lumbar spine stenosis usually include leg pain (sciatica), numbness, tingling and/or burning. In severe cases, there may also be leg weakness. Low back pain may also be present, however the leg pain is usually more severe. Osteoarthritis of the facet joints may also occur.

Should I keep walking with spinal stenosis?

Walking is a suitable exercise for you if you have spinal stenosis. It is low-impact, and you can easily vary the pace as needed. Consider a daily walk (perhaps on your lunch break or as soon as you get home).

Spinal Stenosis - Everything You Need To Know - Dr. Nabil Ebraheim

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.

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.

Why do my legs feel weak when walking?

Your legs also might feel cramped, tired, or weak. These are symptoms of a condition called neural claudication (say this: claw-dih-kay-shun) of the legs. If you have lumbar canal stenosis, the neural leg claudication starts when you stand up, gets worse when you walk, and gets better when you stop walking.

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.

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.

Can stenosis cripple you?

Can spinal stenosis cause permanent paralysis? While the narrowing of the spine can cause pain, it usually doesn't cause paralysis. However, if a spinal nerve or the spinal cord is compressed for a long period of time, permanent numbness and/or paralysis is possible.

What activities should be avoided with spinal stenosis?

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.

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.

What can happen if spinal stenosis is left untreated?

It occurs from spinal stenosis that causes pressure on the spinal cord. 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.

How fast does spinal stenosis progress?

Spinal stenosis is generally not progressive. The pain tends to come and go, but it usually does not progress with time. The natural history with spinal stenosis, in the majority of patients, is that of episodic periods of pain and dysfunction.

Is spinal stenosis a disability?

Fortunately, lumbar spinal stenosis is one of the few back conditions recognized by the Social Security Administration (SSA) with an official impairment listing, meaning that those with documented cases of severe lumbar spinal stenosis are automatically granted disability benefits—if you can meet the SSA's tough ...

What causes difficulty walking?

What Causes Difficulty Walking? Fractures, bruises, cuts, as well as medical conditions that affect the legs, nerves, brain, or spine can also cause walking difficulties. Some of the common causes of walking difficulties include: Leg injuries.

Why can't I walk far?

Cuts, bruises, or bone fractures can temporarily make it difficult to walk. However, diseases that affect the legs, brain, nerves, or spine can cause walking abnormalities. The most common causes of walking abnormalities include: arthritis.

What could cause sudden inability to walk?

Sudden difficulty walking or gait changes can be a sign of serious or potentially life-threatening conditions, such as stroke. Seek immediate medical care (call 911) for sudden gait changes or any of the following symptoms indicating stroke: Arm weakness. Face drooping.

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.

How do you fix spinal stenosis without surgery?

What can make spinal stenosis worse?

Diet and exercise

Diet and exercise can be considered for patients that have spinal stenosis who are also overweight. Because additional fat in the body presses down on the spine and makes it support more weight, it aggravates spinal stenosis and may even lead to the condition developing.

Does spinal stenosis cause hip and leg pain?

And patients with spinal stenosis will often get pain down the leg, sometimes below the knee. There are often neurologic symptoms like numbness and tingling and some weakness feeling but, believe it or not, hip patients can have these symptoms as well.

Does spinal stenosis worsen over time?

Many people have evidence of spinal stenosis on an MRI or CT scan but may not have symptoms. When they do occur, they often start gradually and worsen over time.