Treatments - Spinal Stenosis (Page 2)
Anti-inflammatory medication (such as ibuprofen, aspirin) may be helpful in treating spinal stenosis. Some physicians recommend a multiple B-complex vitamin with 1200 mg of folic acid daily, but this has not been substantiated as an effective treatment in the medical literature.
Some people may successfully manage the symptoms of spinal stenosis with the non-surgical therapies either for a period of time or indefinitely. The key in choosing whether or not to have surgery is the degree of physical disability and disabling pain from lumbar spinal stenosis. As a guideline, when the (usually elderly) patient can no longer walk sufficiently to care for himself or herself (such as to go shopping for essentials), then spinal stenosis surgery is usually recommended.
Surgery for spinal stenosis is mainly designed to increase a patient’s activity tolerance, so he or she can do more activity with less pain.
Spinal Stenosis Surgery
In most cases of advanced claudication (spinal or vascular), decompressive surgery is required. There are several opinions and techniques used in spinal stenosis surgery, but there are key components common to all such approaches.
