Spinal Stenosis
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Spinal Stenosis
Cervical Stenosis occurs when the spinal canal of the neck becomes narrow, putting pressure on your spinal cord. Foraminal stenosis is when the narrowing of the spinal canal compresses the nerves that exit the spine.
Both cervical spinal and foraminal stenosis can be related to degeneration, herniated discs, bone spurs, synovial cysts, spondylolisthesis or other structural issue that cause compression of the nerves in the spine. Regardless of the cause, stenosis is when a tight spot pinches the nerves. This results in nerve dysfunction, which can produce pain, weakness, or numbness. When stenosis is mild, doctors can treat it with conservative treatment options and often avoid surgery. As stenosis becomes more severe, however, often the only way to improve symptoms involves a surgical procedure to widen the tight area. This is decompression. When the area gets decompressed, the spine may become unstable. To restore stability to the spine, a surgeon may need to fuse the spine to restore stability in cases of severe stenosis.
Treatments
Depending on the severity of your stenosis and your individual needs, a variety of treatment options will need to be in consideration. To determine which options are right for you, discuss your condition with your doctor. Treatment options may include:
- Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Medications
- Lumbar, thoracic or cervical bracing
- Spinal decompression
- Laminectomy
- Spinal Fusion
- Microdiscectomy
- Micro Surgery
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Steroid injections
- TENS units
- Chiropractics
- Pain management
- Massage therapy
- Acupuncture
At Texas Spine & Neurosurgery, we understand how valuable your time is. That is why, whenever possible, we rely on more conservative and less invasive treatment options to treat our patients. If it is possible to avoid surgery, we will. As symptoms progress, or the degree of stenosis becomes more severe, surgical options may become necessary. Sometimes, a minimally invasive spine surgery can be performed to fix a mild problem, such as a small, herniated disc. For more severe cases, laminectomy with decompression and fusion may be required.
A minimally invasive approach is not the solution for all surgical problems in the spine or all cases of stenosis. One of the most common reasons patients require a second, or “revision” surgery is that they have undergone a minimally invasive procedure elsewhere to treat a problem which actually required a larger surgery to solve. When this happens, the patient is forced to undergo two surgical procedures instead of just one, increasing down time and pain. At Texas Spine & Neurosurgery, we will thoroughly evaluate all aspects of your health to ensure that you are treated properly the first time, minimizing the need for multiple procedures and getting you back on your feet as quickly as possible.
How We Can Help Cervical Stenosis
At Texas Spine and Neurosurgery, we focus on you and your treatment. We are proud to spend extensive time with each patient individually, reviewing history, symptoms, images and anything else that makes you, well, you. You and your doctor should discuss options personally. Once we have discussed options, we will formulate a plan of treatment. This will always begin with the most conservative and non-invasive treatment options that are appropriate for you. We will discuss conservative, non-surgical care first, then advance to minimally invasive surgical options. We will discuss more involved surgical options for your treatment only if absolutely necessary. In short, your treatment will be specifically and specially tailored to you.
If you are suffering from the symptoms of cervical stenosis, please contact Texas Spine and Neurosurgery to learn how we can help.