What Does Spinal Stenosis Feel Like?

A Patient’s Guide To Symptoms And Treatment.

Spinal stenosis is a painful condition that affects many people as they age. Are you looking for a pain management doctor who will help reduce your chronic pain to help you get back to doing daily tasks? At St Louis Pain Consultants, we focus on treating the underlying causes of chronic pain to help you feel whole again.

What Is Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis typically feels like back pain and can be combined with numbness, weakness, and tingling in your extremities. This condition occurs when there is narrowing in your spine and there is less room for the spinal cord and spinal nerves. It is most common in older adults and can be caused by degenerative changes in the spine or other conditions.

What Are the Symptoms of Spinal Stenosis?

Neck spinal stenosis can result in numbness, weakness, or tingling in the arm, or hand. It sometimes causes issues with balance and walking and soreness in the neck. Constipation and bladder issues are often experienced as well. 

Spinal stenosis in the lower back may cause leg pain or cramping in one or both legs. This occurs with walking or standing still for an extended period. Leaning forward or sitting may improve the pain. When shopping, many have found that leaning forward on the shopping cart helps ease the pain.

How Is Spinal Stenosis Diagnosed?

We work with our patients to provide a tailored plan to alleviate pain. Our pain management physicians may recommend x-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans depending on symptoms and location of pain.

We often recommend electrodiagnostic testing to measure signaling of the nerves. The movement of these electrical signals can be slowed down or stopped by illnesses like spinal stenosis. Measuring the rate and intensity of electrical activity in the muscles assist in diagnosing the cause of pain, weakness, or numbness.

How Is Spinal Stenosis Treated?

There are a number of ways to treat spinal stenosis, depending on the severity of the condition. For milder cases, physical therapy and pain medication may be enough to manage the symptoms. More severe cases may require surgery to decompress the nerves. In some cases, a combination of treatments may be necessary.

Epidural Steroid Injections

We can provide epidural steroid injections to decrease the inflammation of the spinal nerves. Placing strong medication at the root of the inflammation site helps patients experience dramatic pain relief from chronic pain.

Superion Spacer

We can provide a minimally-invasive treatment using an intervertebral spacer called Superion to widen the space in the spine so nerve signals can travel freely without being compressed.

Pain Management Dr

If you’re suffering from spinal stenosis in St. Louis, Missouri, come visit our pain management doctors. At St. Louis Pain Consultants, we are passionate about helping you live your life pain-free. We make sure you receive an individualized treatment plan tailored to your medical needs. Contact us today to get started on your treatment plan.