November 29, 2024
Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the passageway for the nerves in the spine (or spinal canal) narrows.
With the narrowing of the spinal canal, the nerves become compressed, causing pain and numbness in the lower back and legs, even though the location of the symptoms may differ from person to person.
In this article, we will delve into the different symptoms of spinal stenosis.
Symptoms of spinal stenosis
When the spinal canal narrows and the nerves become compressed, it can cause pain in the lower back, pain and numbness in the legs, pain and numbness in the buttocks, and abnormal sensations.
One of the characteristic symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis is intermittent claudication. When walking, you may feel pain or numbness in your legs and be unable to walk, but if you rest for a while, you will feel better and be able to walk again, but after a while the pain will return. If you have intermittent claudication, even walking 100 to 500 meters can be a challenge.
As the spinal canal stenosis progresses, problems with urinary and bowel functions may also appear.
Why does the location of the pain differ from person to person?
The location of the pain and numbness experienced by people with spinal canal stenosis differs depending on the part of the spinal canal where the nerves are compressed.
If the area between L1 and L5 is compressed, pain will appear in the lower back.
If there is nerve compression at L3/L4, there will be a decrease in the strength of the quadriceps muscles, and symptoms will occur on the medial side of the lower leg. In the case of L4/L5, symptoms will occur from the lateral side of the lower leg to the big toe, and in the case of L5/S1, symptoms will occur from the little toe to the lateral side of the sole. If the spinal canal narrows around the sacrum (S1-S5), symptoms will occur in the buttocks, the back of the lower legs and the genital area.
So as you can see, the symptoms that appear depend on the part that is narrowing and the nerves that are being compressed.
The most common sites where the nerves are compressed by stenosis are: 1) between the fourth lumbar vertebra (L4) and the fifth lumbar vertebra (L5), 2) between the fifth lumbar vertebra (L5) and the sacral vertebrae (S1 to S5), and 3) between the third lumbar vertebra (L3) and the fourth lumbar vertebra (L4), where the spinal canal often narrows.
The treatments at our clinic
Our clinic performs the Florence and Cellgel Methods on spinal stenosis.
Both of these procedures are minimally invasive and have a low impact on the body. We recommend them to patients who wish to avoid surgical procedures such as spinal fusion, which require general anesthesia.
The Florence Method
The Florence method is a low-risk, minimally invasive treatment for spinal canal stenosis.
A spacer is inserted percutaneously under partial anesthesia and sedation to widen the narrowed spinal canal. It remains possible to remove the spacer if complications should arise after the treatment has been performed.
The Lobster spacer is inserted inside the vertebral body to stabilize it while preserving spinal rotation and flexion, widening the spinal canal, reducing disc protrusion, and reducing the thickening of the ligamentum flavum. Thus, the narrowed spinal canal is widened, and the pain is relieved.
The Q-Florence method (in Japanese)
The Cellgel Method
Spinal canal stenosis occurs when a disc cracks, causing the central component to protrude and the protruding portion to cause the spinal canal to narrow. If the disc crack is not repaired, herniation can recur, and the spinal canal can become narrowed again.
The Cellgel method used at our clinics provides a fundamental treatment by injecting a drug that fills the cracks in the disc, which then forms a gel that replaces the cracks. It is characterized by the fact that the volume of the disc is not reduced, and the drug remains in the disc as a gel-like implant after treatment, thus preserving the disc.
If you are suffering from spinal stenosis, please consider a consultation at our clinic.
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