Cervical Spinal Stenosis

Cervical spinal stenosis is a serious problem for many patients. Stenosis in the neck is a common condition experienced by people as they get older. Stenosis is not an inherently painful condition although it is often blamed for many cases of back and neck pain. If you are diagnosed with spinal stenosis, make sure to learn the extent of the condition, since some stenosis related changes are simply a universal part of the aging process.

Physical Cervical Spinal Stenosis

Stenosis in the neck is characterized by symptom inducing narrowing of the spinal canal. This passageway houses the spinal cord as well as the spinal nerve roots in the neck. The cervical vertebrae are thinner and lighter than in the rest of the back. This makes them particularly susceptible to degenerative changes and injury. These processes can contribute to the development of cervical stenosis pain in some patients. Remember that true physical stenosis pain is relatively rare compared to the vast number of patients suffering with other types of pain. These painful symptoms are often blamed unfairly on the completely normal and insignificant case of degenerative stenosis.

Psychological Cervical Spinal Stenosis

As previously mentioned, stenosis is often a scapegoat for back pain. The majority of patients with stenosis DO NOT develop any symptoms or pain from their conditions. Stenosis is a normal part of the aging process for most people and is usually nothing to fear.

Psychosomatic back pain is often blamed on coincidental spinal abnormalities such as stenosis. If you are suffering from diagnosed stenosis neck pain and have not been able to find relief from a variety of treatments, there is a good chance that your pain condition has been misdiagnosed.

Recommendation on Cervical Spinal Stenosis

This condition definitely is hard for patients to ignore. The diagnosis of a narrowing spinal canal and possible pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves creates a terror-filled vision of potential pain and disability. The nocebo effect of this diagnosis is severe and often leads to the start or escalation of pain and other symptoms. Remember that stenosis is not unusual and is often a normal age related development.

For patients with severe physically caused pain, there are some excellent modern treatments that should help you to find relief. Some of these treatments might involve major spinal surgery, but at least the pain will finally end. Just make sure that your pain is indeed physical, since there is nothing worse than enduring drastic treatments or surgery just to discover that the pain has remained or gotten worse. It sounds far fetched, but I can assure you that it is far more common than you might think�

Cervical Spinal Stenosis to Back Pain Home page 7/4/07 Revised 11/7/07