How do you know if you have severe 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. In more severe cases, you may have difficulty controlling your bowel and bladder.

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.

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 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.

How do doctors treat severe 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.

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

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.

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 is the life expectancy of someone with spinal stenosis?

Hennenhoefer says you can live a normal life with a spinal stenosis diagnosis and can work on improving your mobility and comfort. "Unfortunately, nothing can stop the progression of spinal stenosis, since it is due to daily wear and tear," said Dr.

When Is spinal stenosis an emergency?

If you have any of these symptoms, you need to get medical attention right away: Loss of bowel or bladder control. Severe or increasing numbness between your legs, inner thighs, and back of the legs. Severe pain and weakness that spreads into one or both legs.

What happens if severe 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.

Does severe spinal stenosis qualify for 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 ...

When is surgery needed for spinal stenosis?

Why might your doctor recommend surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis? Your doctor might recommend surgery if: Your pain and weakness are bad enough to get in the way of your normal activities and have become more than you can manage.

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.

How many stages of spinal stenosis are there?

There are three main types: central spinal stenosis, lateral recess stenosis, and foraminal stenosis, each of which can happen in any region of the spine (i.e. cervical, thoracic, or lumbar).

What is worse lumbar or cervical stenosis?

The two types of spinal stenosis are lumbar stenosis and cervical stenosis. Lumbar spinal stenosis is the more common of the two, but cervical spinal stenosis is often more dangerous since it involves compression of the spinal cord.

What activities should be avoided with spinal stenosis?

Can severe spinal stenosis cause paralysis?

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.

Is lumbar spinal stenosis serious?

Lumbar spinal stenosis can cause mild to serious symptoms, affecting daily life. While nonsurgical treatments are tried first, the patient may decide to have surgery if the symptoms are severe and cause significant dysfunction.

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.

Can spinal stenosis cause extreme fatigue?

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

Can spinal stenosis affect the brain?

Cervical stenosis can cause CSF flow alterations which can result in increased intracranial pressure and buildup of waste products. Resulting symptoms are headaches and other neurological defects. It can also contribute to Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias.

How common is severe spinal stenosis?

Approximately 250,000-500,000 US residents have symptoms of spinal stenosis. This represents about 1 per 1000 persons older than 65 years and about 5 of every 1000 persons older than 50 years.

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 affect bowel movements?

An untreated injury can lead to an infection. Make sure to call your doctor if you have any numbness, pain, or other symptoms of spinal stenosis, especially trouble balancing or difficulty urinating or having a bowel movement.

How do you sleep with 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.