Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the space for the spinal cord or nerve branches. More specifically, as the spine degenerates over time, it can lead to the formation of bone spurs.

Spinal stenosis is most common in those over the age of 50 year old due to changes that occur in the spine as a person ages. As people get older, the bands of tissues that support the spine get thick and hard, bones and joints get bigger, and surfaces of the bones may buldge out.

Symptoms of spinal stenosis either don’t show or gradually appear and get worse over time. Signs of spinal stenosis include:

• Pain the the neck or back
• Numbness, weakness, cramping, or pain in the arms or legs
• Pain that triggers down the leg and foot problems
• Pressure on nerves in the lower back

Initial treatment will involve thorough medical history and physical exam, including the patient’s symptoms. To help detect spinal stenosis, Robert Louis, MD conducts a neurological exam and may request for diagnostic imaging to find the exact location of disc or joint degeneration causing the symptoms of spinal stenosis.

Computerized tomography (CT Scan): CT scan may aid in determining the exact location of disc causing the nerve root and spinal cord compression.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Advanced cases of Cervical Osteoarthritis show abnormal signal within the spinal cord on MRI imaging. In case of atrophy of the spinal cord due to nerve cell loss, also referred to as myelomalacia, surgical outcomes may not be as promising.

X-rays: Application of radiation to produce a film or picture of a part of the body can show the structure of the vertebrae and the outline of the joints.

Myelogram: A test in which the docor injects liquid dye into your spinal column.

Bone scan: A test in which you are given a shot of radioactive substance that shows where bone is breaking down or being formed.

Initial treatments for spinal stenosis are usually medications, non-surgical, such as injections, and physical therapy. Surgery may be needed to restore functionality and alleviate pain in the affected joints or discs. If the pain worsens and treatments are unsucessful then surgery will be taken into consideration.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Robert Louis, MD specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, wherein he incorporates his education, experience and training in cutting edge technology and instrumentation.