subject: Treatment Options for Spinal Stenosis [print this page] The condition of spinal stenosis is such, which causes the spinal cord and the nerves that are around it to get pushed together in a way that constricts the canal. This illness is more common among people of old age, as with the increasing age, the spinal cord may begin to degenerate.
The main symptom of spinal stenosis is chronic pain. As there is quite some pressure over the area of spinal cord, it results in great pain. For its treatment, one has several options to choose from, depending on which works the best for him or her.
Out of the many treatments available, physical therapy is considered to be a highly effective one. It helps in strengthening the back muscles so that they can become more supportive to the spinal cord, thus relieving nerve compression that was taking place.
Secondly, the pain usually becomes worse if the person is overweight. Because of this, it is essential for the patient to lose weight by either exercising or adopting an active lifestyle. It might not be possible to lose weight instantly, however, as long as the patient is no longer gaining weight, even little amounts of weight loss helps a lot.
There are times when pain can be excruciating that one would need medicine to alleviate the pain. If the doctor prescribes anti-inflammatory medicines, those should be taken as soon as possible for pain relief.
Moreover, oral steroid medicines and epidural steroid injections are highly effective. These can be used when there is a sudden increase in the symptoms. These help in letting the nerves get compressed. Injections are more effective as they work faster, and reach the target area thereby reducing pain.
A last option can be kept that of spine surgery. If other methods of treatments do not seem to work and the pain does not go away, one should go for surgery. It helps in decompressing the nerves allowing more room to be given so that they do not result in pain. This is done by taking out extra tissue, ligaments and bone.
Treatment Options for Spinal Stenosis
By: Mary Jenkins
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