Treatment Options for Spinal Stenosis

Degeneration of the spine can cause severe pain and discomfort in a person. The condition in medical terms is called as Spinal stenosis. Main cause of spinal stenosis is osteoarthritis (a type of arthritic condition). Other reasons may include herniated discs, spine tumors and damage to ligaments.

Spinal stenosis often results in numbness, cramps and weakness. A patient may experience pain in the arms and shoulders and in extreme cases suffer from bowel and bladder related problems. The condition needs to be treated at the earliest. . A number of treatment options are available to treat spinal stenosis. Some of the popular ones are mentioned below.

NSAIDS or non steroidal anti inflammatory steroids are a group of drugs that are administered to reduce the inflammation and pain in a person having spinal stenosis. Aspirin, ibuprofen, cox-2 and naproxen are examples of NSAIDS.
Analgesics are also given to relieve pain.

Corticosteroid injections
This is a type of injection that reduces the pain and inflammation.

Braces

Use of braces is also a viable option for spinal stenosis. This is a good option for children as they can wear it under their clothes and go about their normal daily routine. It is also a useful option for older patients.

Physical therapy
This is the easiest, effective and also the least costly method of treating spinal stenosis. Light form of exercises like Yoga, Aerobics, walking and jogging are very beneficial. Meditation is also a good exercise for any ailment. It is strongly advised to take the help of a physical trainer before beginning any exercise program. Only a trained physiotherapist can give proper advice on the type of exercise.

Surgery
This is the last option available to treat spinal stenosis. In fact it’s used only when all the other methods fail to cure the patient. When the patient experiences difficulty in walking or has irregular bowel movements, surgery is the treatment method that the doctors usually resort to. Many types of surgeries are available to treat stenosis but all of them have one common goal – to remove pain and restore the lost vitality and the strength to the spinal cord. In most cases after surgery your spinal stenosis is cured. Some of the surgical methods used to treat stenosis are - decompressive laminectomy, foraminotomy, Laminotomy, Medial Facetectomy, Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, Cervical Corpectomy and Laminoplasty.