Symptoms of Spinal Stenosis
If you suffer from lumbar spinal stenosis you may feel various symptoms, including:
- dull or aching back pain spreading to your legs
- numbness and “pins and needles” in your legs, calves or buttocks
- weakness, or a loss of balance, and
- a decreased endurance for physical activities
Symptoms increase after walking a certain distance or standing for a time. Symptoms can improve when you:
- sit
- bend or lean forward (see Figure below)
- lie down, or
- put your foot on a raised rest
What is Spinal Stenosis ?
Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal. Some patients are born with this narrowing, but most often spinal stenosis is the result of a degenerative condition that develops in people over the age of 50. Spinal stenosis is the gradual result of aging and “wear and tear” on the spine from everyday activities.
Degenerative or age-related changes in our bodies can lead to compression of nerves (pressure on the nerves that may cause pain and/or damage).
As we age:
- the ligaments of the spine can thicken and calcify (harden from deposits of calcium)
- bones and joints may also enlarge
- bone spurs, called osteophytes, may form
- discs may collapse and bulge (or herniate)
- one vertebra may slip over another (called spondylolisthesis)