A whitepaper recently published by Paradigm Spine touched on a common back issue, lumbar spinal stenosis, and treatments for it. Click here to download the whitepaper.
Spinal stenosis is a condition that occurs when the spinal canal narrows and becomes compressed. This narrowing puts pressure on nerves and the spinal cord, and causes pain in the neck, back, legs, shoulders or arms.
Spinal stenosis usually occurs in people over age 50. The most common cause of spinal stenosis is arthritis. It happens because discs can start to bulge, while bones and ligaments in the spine grow larger due to arthritis or inflammation. This combination leads to spinal stenosis and back pain. Younger people with a spinal injury or a narrow spinal canal could also develop this condition.
According to the whitepaper, spinal stenosis is the product of an active population with a desire to stay active well into their 80s and 90s. With the advent of alternatives to spinal fusion, this lessens surgery risks for older patients. Minimally invasive surgery is less risky, has decreased downtime, and a quicker recovery period.
Historically, spine stabilization in the form of spinal fusion has been the standard treatment for spinal stenosis. But in patients who experience a lot of pain, decompression surgery or fusion is not always enough. Newer techniques are minimally invasive meaning there is less time needed to recover.
Lumbar spinal fusion was the most popular surgery for spinal stenosis for years. There were no better alternatives. As time has gone on, medical advancements have been made, such as better imaging and improved diagnoses from MRIs. There are more minimally invasive alternatives to spinal fusion surgery. An artificial stabilizer implant is one of the newer developments that is less invasive, and has a high success rate.
Several factors contributed to the innovations in technology we see today in spinal surgery. Imaging has become more clear and accurate, and MRIs improved diagnoses. Improved minimally invasive techniques have become more and more common. An artificial stabilizer implant is one of the newer developments that is less invasive, and has a high success rate.
Do you have back pain or possibly spinal stenosis? Contact us to learn more about treatment options available to you, or call our dedicated Medical Concierge at 800-890-1964.
