Spinal Stenosis

Spine Center and Orthopedic Rehabilitation of Englewood, PC

Pain Management & Physical Therapy located in Englewood, NJ

If you’ve developed back or neck pain, coupled with leg cramping and pain, or tingling and weakness in your arms, legs, or feet, you may have spinal stenosis. Spine Center and Orthopedic Rehabilitation of Englewood PC, located in Englewood, New Jersey, can diagnose and manage this condition using numerous treatments, including the mild® Procedure, which removes excess ligaments and bone in your spine to relieve pressure. To learn more about spinal stenosis and how you can treat it, contact the practice online or over the phone today.

201-503-1900

Spinal Stenosis Q & A

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a condition that causes the spaces within your spine to narrow. This narrowing occurs mostly in your lower back (lumbar stenosis) and neck (cervical stenosis).

Spinal stenosis can put pressure on the nerves that move through your spine, and while some people don’t experience symptoms, other people with spinal with stenosis can experience:

Weakness in the arm, leg, or foot muscles
Tingling in your extremities
Back or neck pain

Lumbar stenosis specifically can cause pain and/or cramping in one or both legs when you walk or after you stand for long periods of time. This pain usually eases up when you sit or bend forward. Severe cases of cervical stenosis can cause urinary incontinence and urinary urgency.

Spinal stenosis symptoms often worsen over time.

What causes spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis most often results from changes in the spine caused by conditions like:

Overgrowth of spinal bone
Herniated disks
Spinal cord tumors
Thickened spinal ligaments
Dislocations or fractures of the vertebrae

People over 50 are at a higher risk for spinal stenosis than younger people. Spinal bone overgrowth usually develops from wear and tear associated with osteoarthritis, or Paget’s disease, a bone disease that usually only appears in adults.

However, younger people can develop spinal stenosis if they have prior conditions like scoliosis, or if they’ve sustained spinal trauma.

What’s the treatment for spinal stenosis?

If you suffer from mild to moderate lumbar or cervical spinal stenosis symptoms, you may find relief with medication and/or physical therapy.

For more serious cases, the team at Spine Center and Orthopedic Rehabilitation of Englewood, PC treats lumbar spinal stenosis using the mild Procedure. Mild is a safe, minimally invasive, outpatient alternative to major surgery that’s covered by Medicare nationwide.

During a mild procedure, your team makes an incision about the size of a baby aspirin, and relieves pressure in your spinal cord by removing excess ligament tissue and small pieces of bone.

With these elements removed, your spinal canal has adequate space again and decompresses. Clinical data has shown that mild treatment can increase the time you can stand by up to seven times, and the distance you can walk by 16 times.

In contrast to traditional surgery, mild involves no stitches, implants, or general anesthesia. After your procedure, you can resume light activities within a few days.

If spinal stenosis is stopping you from enjoying life without pain, reach out to Spine Center and Orthopedic Rehabilitation of Englewood to find out how the mild Procedure or another treatment can help reclaim your mobility. Get in touch online or over the phone today.