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Causes of Spinal Stenosis
Causes of spinal stenosis are often contributors to the percepton of pain related to this usually assymptomatic condition.
Spinal stenosis
is a common condition associated with aging but is blamed for back pain in millions of patients. Stenosis is sometimes an independent process, but more often is directly caused by some other condition.
There are several common causes of spinal stenosis:
Degenerative disc disease
is when the spinal discs dehydrate and shrink causing loss of disc height. This process can cause the disc to bulge and be pushed into the spinal canal. This can also cause a reduction in the space needed by the spinal cord or spinal nerves.
Herniated discs
can also bulge and push into the spinal canal. If the disc has a central herniation it can create a “mass effect” on the spinal canal and create the start of a stenosis condition.
Spinal arthritis
can cause spinal stenosis. The bones in the spine change as we age. They can sometimes produce bones spurs or growths that can infringe on the spinal canal. This cause is the most difficult to actually cure, without surgical correction.
Spondylolisthesis
can also cause stenosis symptoms. Sometimes the shifted vertebra can move so far forward that it will actually push into the spinal canal. In this case, the stenosis is a side effect of the spondylolisthesis and not a true condition by itself.
Is it Normal?
Remember…Degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis are conditions that often come with age. A large percentage of the population has them, but only a small percentage actually suffers symptoms.
Stenosis is rarely problematic. It is easy to use stenosis as a
scapegoat
for pain, especially in older patients. Unfortunately, most doctors do not tell the patient that this is a normal condition. Instead, many doctors scare the patient half to death, when they tell them their spinal canal is narrowing. No wonder this
nocebo effect
causes pain in so many patients.
Causes of Spinal Stenosis to Home page
5/19/06 Revised 5/28/07
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