Tips for dealing with spinal canal stenosis

Tips for dealing with spinal canal stenosis

06/27/2013

The more summery the temperatures, the more people are drawn outside. About a quarter of Germans go for a walk several times a week. But some of them feel insecure on foot and tire quickly when walking. Common reason: A wear-related constriction of the spinal cord causes unbearable pain in the buttocks and legs and makes every walk a torture. Those affected can barely walk 100 meters at a time and take breaks, so that complaints subside again. Although age-related signs of erosion of the spine can not be completely avoided, Dr. Thomas Bierstedt, spine surgeon and specialist for neurosurgery from the Orthopedic Neurosurgical Center in Datteln and Recklinghausen, helpful tips that at least mitigate or delay the painful consequences. With persistent severe pain and when conservative measures do not bring relief, the flexible spinal stabilization ensures lasting pain relief.

Always keep moving
Movement is the alpha and omega, because especially with protection threatens an aggravation of the complaints. „The consequences of a lack of muscle activity are already evident within a week“, knows Dr. Bierstedt from many years of experience. „Adequate physical stress, however, strengthens the back and abdominal muscles, which supports the spine like an endogenous corset.“ Exercise can be well integrated into everyday life - even with regular posture changes between sitting, standing and walking, the back better trained.

Sport that takes the pressure
Sports performed with a light trunk prone relieve discomfort of the spinal canal stenosis, as this widens the spinal canal and relieves the permanent pressure on nerves and vessels. These include, for example, cycling, Nordic walking, rowing, sailing or swimming. „Regular exercises with a strong forward incline provide relief as well as fast walking and jogging“, explains the spine surgeon.

Avoid overweight
Furthermore, specialists recommend to avoid overloading by excessive obesity, as load and body weight push the vertebral joints into one another. As a result, they press on the nerves and favor spinal canal stenosis.

Rethinking lifestyle habits
Basically, people with back problems should reconsider their habits and discard old patterns of movement. For example, back-friendly behavior, such as lifting heavy loads out of the knees, leads to a reduction in discomfort.

Obtain a second opinion before surgery
If patients notice the first signs of spinal stenosis, such as numbness, pain in the legs and lumbar region or in the buttocks, specialists first treat conservatives with the help of conservative measures. If these show no effect, relieving an operative discharge of the spinal canal from the discomfort. „Patients should, however, be advised in detail before the procedure“, recommends Dr. Bierstedt. „Frequently, extensive pressure relief is followed by a stiffening operation. But patients today also have motion-preserving alternatives such as flexible spine stabilization.“ In this method - also known as the TOPS system - patients achieve permanent pain relief without loss of mobility.