Spinal canal stenosis and gardening?

Spinal canal stenosis and gardening? The right attitude is important!

10/31/2013

Pruning trees, raking leaves, plucking weeds - the garden season is coming to an end and many are now making their green areas winter-proof. However, some hobby gardeners lose the pleasure of gardening, if it involves unbearable back pain. Especially people with narrowing in the spinal canal - doctors speak of spinal canal stenosis - in which every movement presses on the nerves and pain spreads to the feet, should pay attention to the correct posture. Dr. Thomas Bierstedt, spine surgeon and specialist in neurosurgery from the Orthopedic-Neurosurgical Center in Datteln and Recklinghausen. Conservative measures bring no relief, relieves in persistent severe discomfort that aggravate despite back-friendly gardening, sometimes only one operation permanently pain.

Those affected often report an immediate improvement in their symptoms as they lean forward. Thus, they expand the space in the spinal cord and reduce the pressure on the nerves in the narrowed spinal canal. In all gardening, however, the most important requirement is: keep your back straight. „For example, those who work with bent knees keep their backs in a healthy position and at the same time strengthen their abdominal muscles, which support the spine like an endogenous corset“, explains Dr. Bierstedt. In addition, the lower back is often free in a bent position. Cold air causes back muscles to contract and symptoms of spinal stenosis become worse. Also important: change the posture again and again and take breaks and stretching and loosening exercises. If hobby gardeners constantly strive to keep their backs straight, they also cramp. Regularly changing postures provide a natural workout for the body, strengthening the back. „In addition, exercise such as cycling or walking is the perfect way to balance your tired muscles after a day in the garden“, supplements Dr. Bierstedt.

Those who, despite back-friendly gardening, permanently complain of severe back pain and already notice signs of paralysis and sensory disturbances, suffer from a severe narrowing in the spinal canal. In such cases, relief promises surgery, in which surgeons remove disturbing tissue structures and restore space to the trapped nerve. „Depending on the size, stabilization of the spine may be necessary afterwards“, noticed Dr. Bierstedt. Since this is often done by stiffening the affected vertebrae, many patients shy away from the procedure for fear of associated movement restrictions. An alternative is provided by the flexible spine stabilization: instead of screwing the vertebral body together statically, a dynamic implant - the so-called TOPS system - ensures that the patient remains mobile and permanently painless in all directions as usual. For gardening in particular requires the full mobility of the spine: gardeners stretch themselves to cut the branches, bend to pluck weeds or turn and incline themselves to raking leaves. (Pm)