Spinal Stenosis Symptoms

When the spinal canal narrows it usually presents with it symptoms of spinal stenosis.  One will experience problems when the nerves are inflamed and occur at an increased pressure.

There are many of symptoms of spinal sterosis. Patients may feel pain, numbness in the calve, legs, or buttocks or weakness.  Lumbar spinal stenosis symptom often increases when walking short distances and decreases when the patient sits, lies down or bends forward.

Cervical spinal stenosis symptoms could have similar symptoms as those felt in the shoulders, legs or arms; balance disturbances can also occur, gait and hand clumsiness. Some patients experience the cervical spinal stenosis symptoms where pain would begins in the leg and would move to the top of the buttocks. While in most patients, the pain starts higher in the body and would move down.  This is also called the “sensory march.”  The pain is like a cramping pain or like sciatica. In some cases, the pain could be constant.  The symptoms of spinal stenosis could also cause bowel or bladder problems, which is very rare.  Also loss of function or paraplegia can occur but it rarely happens.

There are ways to diagnose symptoms of spinal sterosis.  Before making a diagnosis of stenosis, either cervical spinal stenosis symptoms or lumbar spinal stenosis symptoms, it is very important and a standard procedure that the doctor rule out similar symptoms of spinal sterosis. Doctors would start by asking the person experiencing the condition to describe any symptoms of spinal sterosis he or she has.  It would also be useful to know how these conditions have changed over the period. Doctors would also like to know how the person is treating the condition and the medications already taken.  Usually doctors would like to know if these medications have in any way affected the symptoms of spinal sterosis.  The doctor will then check for any movement limitations including the spine, signs of pain and problems with balance.  After checking for limitations in movement, the doctor will look for muscle weakness, loss of extremity reflexes, abnormal reflexes or sensory loss which usually shows spinal cord movement.  After simple examination, the doctor will continue to look at the inside of the body and will use a variety of tests for it.

There are so many tests that can validate symptoms of spinal sterosis.  First symptoms of spinal sterosis are usually seen in conducting these tests: X-rays are use to show the vertebrae (its structure) and the outlines of the joints.  It will help in detecting calcification.  MRI or magnetic resonance imaging test gives a three-dimensional view on the back and will show the spinal cord, the surrounding spaces of the nerve roots and nerve roots itself.  It can also see the degeneration or enlargement or infection or tumors.  The MRI usually shows the spinal stenosis MRI symptoms. CAT or Computerized Axial Tomography depicts the size and the shape of the spinal canal.  It can also show the structures of the spinal canal and its surrounding.  Bones are seen well than nerve tissues. Myelogram is a liquid dye.  Doctors inject it in the spinal column and it would show white on the bone when seen in an x-ray film.  It can also show pressure on the nerves or spinal cord from bone spurs or tumors or herniated discs.