Spinal stenosis refers to a narrowing of the spinal canal, the opening in your vertebrae that your spinal cord travels through. Several degenerative conditions can cause spinal stenosis, including:

• A herniated disc
• Bone spurs
• Thickened ligaments
• Degenerative disc disease
• Spondylolisthesis (a slipped disc)

Most of these conditions narrow the space and pinch the nerves by protruding into the spinal canal. A slipped disc, however, affects the nerves by disrupting spinal alignment.

Spinal stenosis can occur in your neck, but it more commonly affects your lower back. In addition to the pain, you’ll feel in your back or neck, you can also develop symptoms in your arms or legs along the path of the compressed nerve.

The best example is sciatica, which causes pain that radiates down your leg when the sciatic nerve is pinched at the spine. Typical nerve symptoms include arm or leg pain, tingling, numbness, and muscle weakness.

Treatment of spinal stenosis begins with conservative therapies like medication and physical therapy. If you still struggle with pain after these therapies, the team at Spinal Diagnostic offer effective interventional treatments.

These are two examples of interventional treatments for spinal stenosis:

Epidural steroid injection

A steroid and a local anesthetic are injected near the nerves in your spine that are transmitting pain signals to your brain. The local anesthetic delivers quick but short-lived relief, while steroids significantly reduce inflammation for longer-lasting relief.

Using imaging to guide the needle and precisely place it near the targeted nerves, your doctor at Spinal Diagnostics injects the medications in the epidural space between the spine and the spinal cord. This allows the medication to flow around the nerves so the anesthetic can block pain signals and the steroid can surround the inflamed nerves.

Selective nerve root block

A selective nerve root block is performed by injecting a local anesthetic at a specific nerve root where it enters or exits the spine. The anesthetic immediately stops signals being transmitted by that nerve, which means your brain doesn’t get the message and you stop feeling the pain.

If you suffer from back or neck pain, call Spinal Diagnostics or book an appointment online today to learn more about the interventional treatments available.

No single test is used to diagnose migraine. Your practitioner performs physical and neurological exams to gather information about your health.

An in-depth discussion about your personal and family health history is also an important part of the diagnostic process. Ruling out other potential causes of your symptoms is a large part of the diagnostic process.

If you suffer from debilitating head pain, schedule a consultation with Spinal Diagnostics at your earliest convenience. You can book a visit online or by phone.