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There is some space in your lower spine area from where the nerves connecting the brain to legs pass. It is this area which is called the Lumbar Spinal Canal. The canal is rather narrow and with aging it tends to get filled with bone and tissue growth. As a result, the nerves passing through the space get squeezed. This results in pain in the back (primarily lower back), pain in the legs and a significant degree of weakness. Apart from this, there are other causes of lumbar spinal canal stenosis including general wear and tear of spinal cord and in some cases- arthritis.
Common Symptoms
The primary symptom of this disease is extreme pain in legs and back which may be accompanied by numbness in certain cases. People who are suffering from this disease report that they feel weakness and weariness. In some cases, feeling of being cramped may also occur. Primarily the symptoms are more pronounced when the patient is standing or walking. This may be credited to the load being put on legs and the canal getting blocked. As is obvious, the symptoms are very less pronounced when the patient is sitting or lying on a bed because of the fact that pressure on the spinal cord is considerably reduced and the canal gets widened.
Difference from a Ruptured Disc
A number of people tend to confuse this problem with that of a ruptured disc. Fact is that both are extremely different. In case the disc has been ruptured, it would only affect one or two nerves. Such pain is termed as Sciatica. Since only a limited number of nerves are impacted by this problem, it will not affect both the legs in general conditions. Instead only one leg gets affected. Plus, unlike the canal trouble which is more pronounced when the patient is standing or walking, a ruptured disc would hurt all the time, regardless of the position.
Diagnosis
Generally the health care practitioners would be able to determine the presence of this disease by the symptoms but in some cases they may ask you to undergo X-Ray or other bone and spine related tests.
Treatment
Generally, the treatment of Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis depends upon the intensity of and occurrence of symptoms. For people who have just started to experience the pain and where the intensity of pain is not extreme, it is advised that a proper physical training regimen be implemented. The focus is to improve overall posture of the patient. For some cases where matters have become complicated, spine surgery is the only practical and effective solution.
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