Treatments - Spinal Stenosis
Non-surgical treatment for spinal stenosis
Depending on the severity of symptoms, spinal stenosis can often be managed through non-surgical means. The three most common treatments for spinal stenosis include:
- Exercise Program. Although a suitable exercise program in the hands of a good physical therapist may be helpful, it is not curative. Even though it is not a cure, however, it is very important for patients to remain active as tolerated and not additionally debilitated from inactivity, so an appropriate exercise program is a key part of any spinal stenosis treatment program.
- Activity modification. Patients are usually counseled to avoid activities that cause the adverse symptoms of spinal stenosis. Patients are typically more comfortable while flexed forward. Examples of activity modification might include: walking while bent over and leaning on a walker or shopping cart instead of walking upright; stationary biking (leaning forward on the handlebars) instead of walking for exercise; sitting in a recliner instead of on a straight-back chair.
- Epidural injections. An injection of cortisone into the space outside the dura (the epidural space) can temporarily relieve symptoms of spinal stenosis. While these injections can seldom be considered curative, they can alleviate the pain in about 50% of cases. Up to three injections over a course of several months can be tried. Although they are not considered diagnostic in and of themselves, generally, if the pain caused by spinal stenosis is relieved by an epidural steroid injection, then the patient can also be expected to have a good result if they later choose surgery.
