Spinal Stenosis

Your doctor may recommend prescription medications to treat nerve damage caused by stenosis. A medication regimen may be coupled with physical therapy.

A trained physical therapist guides you in exercises and stretching designed to strengthen your back, improve your balance and flexibility, and increase your range of motion -- all outcomes that can alleviate your pain and the pressure on your nerves. Physical therapy may be recommended both before and after surgery.

Epidural steroid injections treat inflammation and pain right at the source -- your nerve roots. Your doctor numbs your skin and places a needle into the epidural space in your spine, using X-rays to help guide the needle. You’ll feel pressure during this procedure. The medicine usually begins working within a few days to a week. You’ll be able to return to normal activities the following day. We give these injections in a special, sterile suite. 

During acupuncture, our acupuncturist uses fine needles placed strategically in your skin to relieve pain. Massage therapy manipulates muscles to relax them, ease tension, and improve blood flow and circulation. These treatments may be offered as a complement to your regular treatment plan, not as a substitute.

Decompression surgery relieves pain and pressure from pinched nerves by creating more room in the spinal canal. In some cases, minimally invasive lumbar decompression (or MILD) may be possible. This surgery is performed using general anesthesia and is made up of two parts. First, the affected lamina (back part of the vertebra) is removed in a procedure called a laminotomy or laminectomy. Next, the surgeon removes a small portion of the bone over the nerve root and possibly part of the disc under the nerve root -- these are called a foraminotomy and a microdiscectomy, respectively. Depending on how involved the surgery is, it can last for one or two hours. You may be able to go home the same day, or you might need to stay in the hospital for two or three nights.

Usually reserved for people whose stenosis has caused instability in the spine, spinal fusion stabilizes the spine with rods and screws and fuses two or more vertebrae together. Whenever possible, we use the least-invasive techniques available so that you can recover faster and experience less pain and fewer complications.