Symptoms:
- Back pain
- Burning pain in buttocks or legs (sciatica)
- Numbness or tingling in buttocks or legs (CT)
- Weakness in the legs or “foot drop.”
- Less pain with leaning forward or sitting
- Neurogenic Claudication where the patient gets numbness in legs when he walks and his walking distance decreases.
Diagnosis:
The typical symptom of lumbar canal stenosis is leg pain, which is aggravated by walking. There may or may not be back pain. When a patient
comes with this complain, doctors make a conclusive diagnosis with a MRI scan or a CT scan
Treatments:
Non-surgical treatment methods for lumbar canal stenosis are physical therapy, braces, exercise, medications, chiropractic therapy and spinal
injections.
Surgery may be recommended if the above methods fail to alleviate the symptoms. There are many types of spinal surgeries based on different
medical conditions and other circumstances. A neurosurgeon can determine which type would be most suitable for a patient. The neurosurgeon will also
base his assessment on the patient’s age, general health apart from other factors. Any of the following factors may make a patient suitable for
surgery:
- Back and leg pain limits normal activity or impairs quality of life.
- Progressive neurological deficits develop (leg weakness, foot drop, numbness in the limb)
- Loss of normal bowel and/or bladder functions
- Difficulty standing or walking
- Medications and physical therapy are not effective
- The patient is in reasonably good health
