1. Look Into Surgery
If your spinal stenosis symptoms are causing pain or severely limiting your daily activities, you may consider surgery. Spinal fusion is an option, especially if the stenosis is accompanied by one or more misaligned discs. In spinal fusion, a surgeon removes bone chips from one of your hips. He then opens your back and decompresses the nerve being irritated by the stenosis. The surgeon will place the bone chips inside a metal cage that has been screwed into your spine at the point where the stenosis is concentrated. During your recovery, the bone chips will start to fuse and create new bone over the affected area until a solid column of bone forms. The process takes anywhere from nine months to a year, during which time your activities may be limited to prevent irritation to your growing bone. You'll probably have to limit the amount of weight you can lift, a restriction that may remain in place for the rest of your life. However, this procedure usually eliminates your pain.
2. Explore Non-Surgical Alternatives
Many non-surgical options are available to treat your spinal stenosis, including physical therapy. You can use targeted exercises and stretches that focus on your spine and the muscles around it to maintain strength and flexibility around the stenosis-affected area and reduce your pain if the stenosis is mild. Pain relievers, particularly non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, can also help. The doctor also can administer steroid injections right into your spine. A series of three injections is common, and often suppress the pain for a year or more. Wearing a back brace also may alleviate the pain of spinal stenosis. Just relieving the pain may be enough for you to resume your normal life.
3. Use Available Alternative Treatments
Acupuncture has been used as an alternative method of relieving lower back pain for years, and it may help with this condition. Chiropractic treatment also may relieve pain for people with spinal stenosis. However, while some people swear by spinal manipulations and adjustments, you might find it makes your pain worse. If you visit an chiropractor and your symptoms worsen, then this method isn't for you.
