Marie Brace
The spinal cord has a famous name, master cable cord because it is responsible for sending and receiving signals between the brain and the body. The cord runs at the center of the spinal canal, wholly surrounded by the spine’s bony parts. Therefore, when your spinal canal narrows, the spinal cord’s nerve is pinched. As a result, you develop spinal stenosis Houston, which causes pain, weakness, numbness, and worsening symptoms like difficulty balancing. The condition has several causes like bone overgrowth, herniated disks, injuries, and tumors, among many other possible causes. All causes will put pressure on the nerves and cause pain. Here are a few options that can help relieve pain from spinal stenosis.
Self-Care Remedies
Mild symptoms of spinal stenosis may not require medical intervention. Instead, your doctor will recommend that you try some remedies like applying heat to increase blood flow so your aching joints and muscles can relax. You can also apply cold by using ice packs or frozen bags of corn to reduce tenderness, swelling, and inflammation. Additionally, try some exercise if your doctor says you can do it. Exercise will help strengthen your muscles to improve balance and flexibility while relieving pain.
Medications
You can relieve pain symptoms from spinal stenosis when you take prescriptions of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen and aspirin. Sometimes, your doctor may prescribe anti-seizure drugs and antidepressants with pain-relieving properties. Additionally, you may receive muscle relaxants to treat muscle spasms and cramps.
Physical Therapy
You may need a physical therapist who will take you through exercises that can help improve your balance, stability, and flexibility while gaining strength. Exercise will also strengthen your core, thus making your spine more resilient. Physical therapy may also teach you how to walk a certain way to open up your spinal canal, thus easing pressure on the nerves.
Corticosteroid Injections
Also known as steroids, your doctor may inject them near the epidural space at the pinching area to reduce pain, inflammation, and irritation. You may need up to four steroid injections yearly because more than that may weaken your bones and tissue.
Decompression
Your doctor may recommend decompression if spinal stenosis results from a specific thickened ligament in your spinal column. During treatment, your doctor makes a tiny incision and uses X-ray and contrast dye to guide the procedure. Special tools will pass through the incision to remove a part of the thickened ligament, thus freeing space in your spinal column. As a result, you will get relief from pressure and pain from spinal stenosis.
Surgery
Treatment with surgery only becomes an option when all other treatments fail. You may notice intolerable symptoms, difficulty maintaining balance, and loss of bowel and bladder control. Surgery will involve removing bony growths crowding your spinal column to relieve pressure and pain.
Spinal stenosis is a complex condition affecting your spine’s delicate nature. Whatever the cause, spinal stenosis changes the structure of your spine by narrowing the space around your cord and nerve roots. As a result, your nerve roots will be pinched and compressed, causing symptoms including pain, inflammation, and pressure. You will need pain-relief options like medications, injections, and exercises to help the pain go away and avoid possible complications.
