Low back pain can affect people of all age groups and physical activity levels. Among its many causes is spinal stenosis, a syndrome that Dutch surgeon Henk Verbiest first described in 1954. Because it is primarily a degenerative and age-related process, you cannot prevent spinal stenosis. With exercise, however, you can delay its onset and reduce symptoms.
Description
The term spinal stenosis refers to any narrowing of the spinal canal and/or nerve root canals. This narrowing can cause a compression of the spinal cord and/or nerve roots. University of Chicago Hospital physician Sung-Lana Kim describes two categories of symptoms that pressure on your nerves produces: neurogenic intermittent claudication and radiculopathy. The former refers to exercise-related pain, while the latter describes a disorder of the spinal nerve roots. However, some people with spinal stenosis do not develop symptoms.
Symptoms
Neurogenic intermittent claudication commonly manifests as numbness, tingling, leg cramping, buttock pain that may radiate into the thighs or legs, difficulty standing or walking; and low back pain. Radiculopathy can produce weakness, sensation and reflex loss, with or without pain. Radicular pain is typically sharp and radiates along a nerve distribution on one or both sides of the body. Sciatica, for instance, produces radicular pain along the sciatic nerve distribution from the lower back to the buttocks and back of the thigh.
Causes
Spinal stenosis most commonly results from the wear-and-tear and degenerative processes that accompany aging, such as osteoarthritis. Not surprisingly therefore, most people with spinal stenosis are 50 years or older, according to the Mayo Clinic. Other possible causes include metabolic disorders, traumatic injuries to the spine, and birth defects of the spinal canal, such as scoliosis, congenital lumbar stenosis, and achondroplasia. However, these inherited causes are relatively rare and tend to present themselves earlier in life.
Benefits of Exercise
Flexibility and strength are two important aspects of spinal health. Michigan-based William Beaumont Hospital physician Dilip Sengupta specifically points to William's extension and McKenzie's flexion exercises as effective ways to improve your spine health. Exercises that strengthen the spinal column are generally important because they can help the back avoid injury, reduce existing back pain or minimize the severity of traumatic injuries to the spine. In addition, stretching different muscles and ligaments during your exercises produces mobility and flexibility.
Considerations
In addition to low-impact regular exercise, practicing good posture in your daily activities can help reduce the effects of spinal stenosis or slow its progression. The Laser Spine Institute particularly advocates getting in the habit of keeping your back straight, shoulders square and head up. Other preventive measures include quitting smoking, eating a low-fat, low-sodium diet for weight control, being aware of body mechanics when lifting objects and removing obstacles in your home that could make you fall.
References
- Spine Unibverse: Spinal Stenosis Prevention
- "Disease-A-Month"; Spinal Stenosis; Sung-Lana Kim, M.D. and RIchard D. Lim, M.D.; January 2005
- Laser Spine Institue: Spinal Stenosis
- "Orthopedic Clinics of North America"; Lumbar Spinal Stenosis; Dilip K. Sengupta, M.D. and Harry N. Herkowitz, M.D.; April 2003
- Spine Health: Exercises and Back Pain
