Spinal Stenosis Specialist

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a degenerative condition that often causes neck pain and back pain. As you age, your spine changes due to normal wear and tear. These changes can include narrowing of your spinal canal, which surrounds your spinal cord. This narrowing puts pressure on your spinal nerves and spinal cord, causing inflammation, pain, and other symptoms.

Spinal stenosis affects your back and neck. In your back, it’s called lumbar spinal stenosis. In your neck, it’s called cervical spinal stenosis. Both forms are treatable with the right care from Dr. Warren at Apollo Pain Management.

What are the symptoms of spinal stenosis?

You’ll experience a range of symptoms with spinal stenosis, including:

• Back pain
• Pain radiating from your buttocks down into your leg, called sciatica
• Pain radiating downward from your neck to one or both shoulders, your arms, and/or your hands
• Numbness and/or tingling in your buttocks or legs
• Weakness in your legs
• Foot-drop, which is the feeling that your foot slaps the ground as you walk
• Headaches
• Difficulty keeping your balance

Spinal stenosis in your neck can affect your fine motor skills like your ability to button your shirt.

What causes spinal stenosis?

The most common cause is arthritis. As you age, the discs in your neck and back begin to dry out and weaken. You can also be born with spinal stenosis, develop it after an injury, or from a herniated or ruptured disc.

How is spinal stenosis diagnosed?

Dr. Warren takes a complete medical history, including a family history because spinal disorders often run in families. He performs a physical exam, inspecting your spine for abnormalities and areas of tenderness, swelling, and pain.

He’ll probably ask you to walk, stand, bend over, and move from side to side. This allows him to observe your:

• Posture
• Flexibility
• Spinal range of motion

To complete your diagnosis, Dr. Warren will likely order an X-ray or electrodiagnostic tests, which measure the electrical performance of your nerves and muscles. They include a nerve conduction study (NCS) and/or an electromyogram (EMG).

How is spinal stenosis treated?

At Apollo Pain Management, Dr. Warren creates a treatment plan that’s right for your form of spinal stenosis. Your plan can include:

• Physical therapy
• Pain medications
• Epidural injections

If you’re suffering from neck or back pain, you could have spinal stenosis. To find out more about treatments of spinal stenosis, call today or book a consultation online with Apollo Pain Management.