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Spinal stenosis is caused by a spinal canal that is too narrow, which puts pressure on the structures of the spinal cord. It is located in the spinal canal consisting of individual vertebrae. Its function is to protect the delicate tissues of the spinal cord. Between the core and the structure of the spinal canal in healthy people there are voids and it is their reduction or complete disappearance that leads to abnormalities and pressure on the spinal cord. This is called spinal stenosis, also called spinal canal syndrome. Patients are usually people over 50, regardless of gender, but spinal stenosis can also affect younger people, in most cases it is associated with a congenital defect of the spine and a narrow spinal canal.
Spinal stenosis – causes
Narrowing spinal canal it can be congenital or acquired. Congenital spinal stenosis it does not have to manifest itself from birth. In most cases, this abnormality worsens over the course of life, and the symptoms of the spinal column syndrome may not appear until the age of 30. However, much more often the cause of spinal stenosis there are pathological changes, e.g. degeneration of the spine associated with osteoarthritis or neoplastic diseases in the area of the bones of the spine and in the tissue of the spinal cord. The cause of stenosis there may also be spinal injuries, discopathy, ligament hypertrophy of the spine. Spinal stenosis it can also occur as a complication of spinal surgery.
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symptoms stenosis They start to bother patients when there is compression of any of the elements of the spinal cord and it must be remembered that the disease is not the same in all cases and depends on which part of the spinal cord is under pressure. Most often stenosis appears in the lumbar and cervical spine, much less frequently in the thoracic spine. In the case of narrowing and pressure in the lumbar spine, the most common symptoms are back pain, radiating pain in the lower limbs, from the buttocks to the feet (this symptom may be similar to the pain that occurs with sciatica). There may also be disturbed sensation in the lower limbs and difficulty walking. Symptoms spinal stenosis in the lumbar region they may resemble the symptoms of cauda equina syndrome, however, characteristic of the spinal canal syndrome is that the pain subsides after assuming a flexed body position. Spinal stenosis in the cervical spine, it manifests itself with pain in the nape, neck and back. Patients experience headaches and dizziness, as well as paresis and sensory disturbances in the upper limbs. In the rarest form stenosis, that is, in the carpal tunnel syndrome spinal canal in the thoracic spine, patients complain of radiating back pain, e.g. towards the ribs or lower limbs.
Spinal stenosis – treatment
The symptoms discussed above may raise a valid suspicion spinal stenosis, however, additional diagnostics are required. Additional neurological examinations are performed to determine which section of the spinal cord is under pressure. Imaging tests, primarily X-rays of the spine and magnetic resonance imaging, can detect changes in the spine. Thanks to X-ray, the presence of these changes can be detected, and the magnetic resonance imaging allows to visualize the nervous tissue. In treatment of root canal stenosis cord it is used both leczenie conservative and operational. In conservative management, analgesics are used, mostly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, physiotherapy, acupuncture and the so-called nerve blocks, and wearing orthopedic corsets. In the early stages spinal stenosis such therapy usually brings satisfactory results.
Treatment surgical relieves the pressure on the spinal cord. On leczenie treatment procedures are directed to the patient only when the carpal tunnel syndrome occurs spinal canal causes the patient severe pain that does not decrease after application treatment conservative and in cases where spinal stenosis it causes significant difficulties in everyday activities, e.g. walking. In treatment different surgical techniques are used. For example, you can remove parts of the vertebrae by laminectomy or use resection of bone structures (osteophytes). It is also possible to use implants (stabilization of the spinal canal).