What an excellent
question! Spine surgeons aren’t positive about the best route for
spinal stenosis, after all
conservative care is earning more
consideration in the medical research! Spinal Care Clinic
offers
non-surgical care
that is quite relieving to Burlington and Hamilton spinal stenosis sufferers. Our patients at Burlington and Hamilton suffering
from spinal stenosis come to Spinal Care Clinic will find our care gentle and
comfortable and commend the
research and
practices behind its administration.
What is spinal stenosis first of
all? Spinal
stenosis is the result of narrowing in the spinal canal area.
Lumbar spinal stenosis occurs with age for a
number of us when erosion of the spine takes place. One reason this happens may be due to how the
spinal elements originally developed. (In some cases people are born with narrow spinal canals.) Likewise spinal stenosis can be the effect of a disc
herniation that is injecting itself into the spinal canal, taking up the space that is supposed
to be for the spinal nerves. Regardless
of the cause, spinal stenosis’ narrowing creates
pain.
When surgeons discover
spinal stenosis in a patient they often give surgical choices
to widen that narrowed space. There are many approaches
from which a patient may choose. Decompressive
surgery is one such avenue.. It is an affordable treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis, but surgical and conservative
treatment approaches result in comparable quality of life at one year follow
up.
(1) Spinal fusion can also be a tool against spinal stenosis. A Cochrane Database Review, a big deal in the world of
research, reports that there is no significant
difference at 6 months and 12 months post spine surgery for lumbar spinal
stenosis. Cochrane pulled from 12,966 citations to conclude
further that they have very little confidence to determine whether surgical or
conservative care is better for lumbar spinal stenosis. They, therefore, offer
no new clinical practice recommendations for doctors to follow. They do
emphasize though that side-effects
from surgery range from 10% to 24% and side effects from conservative
care, 0%. There
were no side effects from conservative care for lumbar spine stenosis in their
review. Further,
they report that there
were no clear benefits seen with surgery versus no surgery. They warn clinicians to carefully
inform patients about possible treatment options “especially given that
conservative treatment options have results in no reported side effects.”
(2)
For relief of pain
due to lumbar spinal stenosis,
schedule an appointment
with Spinal Care Clinic, the Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic
practice for gentle relief of back pain. Spinal Care Clinic
chiropractic care at Burlington and Hamilton
may well be the answer to the
question of “what can I do about my spinal
stenosis?” for you!
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."