Spinal stenosis, a narrowing in your spine, can result in persistent low back pain and other uncomfortable symptoms like pain or weakness in the legs, cramping, numbness, tingling, and fatigue. Could your symptoms be due to spinal stenosis?
At the Interventional Spine and Pain Institute, Dr. Michael Esposito diagnoses and provides care to patients with spinal stenosis from his practice in Vero Beach, Florida.
Here are some of the common causes of spinal stenosis and more information on treatments that can support your spine and relieve your symptoms.
Spinal stenosis can affect your upper or lower back. If you have spinal stenosis, the spinal canal within your spine narrows, leading to pressure on the many nerves that pass through the area. Pain and other symptoms like numbness or even loss of bowel control can seriously harm your quality of life.
For chronic lower back pain associated with spinal stenosis, Dr. Esposito offers minimally invasive procedures such as:
Spinal stenosis can occur for several reasons, including wear-and-tear and injury. Here are some of the most common causes of spinal stenosis that we see in our practice.
Often, spinal stenosis occurs due to the natural aging process. Your spine holds up the whole weight of your upper body, and spinal problems become more common across the board as you get older.
Wear-and-tear can lead to overgrowth of bone, forming bone spurs that can intrude into your spinal canal and cause spinal stenosis. And the ligaments that support your spine may grow thicker over time, pressing into the spinal canal.
In spinal decompression, Dr. Esposito removes thickened ligaments from your spine with an instrument similar to a needle, relieving spinal canal pressure and associated pain.
With the minimally invasive treatment mild® from Vertos Medical, Dr. Esposito removes excess ligaments from the affected area for similar results. The Vertiflex™ procedure from Boston Scientific, uses a small titanium implants to stent open the narrowed space in the spinal canal
Degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that affect your spine may lead to spinal stenosis. If you’re suffering from spinal stenosis due to a degenerative condition such as RA or OA, Dr. Esposito may recommend regenerative medicine treatments to help your body heal.
Injection therapies using stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) extracted from your own blood may be able to reduce your pain and inflammation, kickstarting new cell growth to restore bones and tissues damaged by arthritis.
Traumatic injuries to your spine can lead to herniated discs and spinal stenosis. Car accidents, falls, and sports accidents can all cause spinal stenosis due to spinal dislocations or fractures or tissue swelling. It’s a good idea to get checked out by a medical professional after a traumatic injury.
Dr. Esposito can help with pain management after an injury. He may recommend over-the-counter medication, prescription medication, or injectable drugs targeted to the site of your pain. Physical therapy can also help you recover faster.
More rarely, spinal stenosis may occur due to tumors, abnormal growths that form within your spinal cord, within the membranes that cover the spinal cord, or between your spinal cord and your vertebral bones.
Dr. Esposito can identify spinal tumors with diagnostic imaging tests and can recommend treatment options.
For customized treatment of your lower back pain and potential spinal stenosis, get in touch with Dr. Esposito at the Interventional Spine and Pain Institute today. Schedule your initial consultation appointment over the phone, or contact us online now.
