When I received my MRI report (August 2019) I was shattered to read all the things that were wrong with my lumbar spine. Pessimistic, melancholy person that I am, given to catastrophic thinking, all I could think of was "life as you know it, is over." Then the doctor explained that "we don't treat the images, we treat the symptoms as the patient describes them." My symptoms (numbness, tingling, pins and needles, all in the right leg/foot) corresponded to what the MRI report was showing as compression of the sciatic nerve. So, since symptoms and image matched, my doctor ordered PT to treat this particular condition. The therapist then determined (not surprisingly) that my "core" muscles were weak. Treatment was focused on strengthening these muscles, to "stabilize" (as she said) the spine. With less loose movement, there would be a reduction of vertebral pressure on the nerve root where it exits the spinal column. About 2 months later I began to experience relief from the random nerve firings, but a slight foot numbness remained in the metatarsal area and in a narrow 6" band from the ankle up the outside of the right leg. Another month of PT brought no further progress and so I was discharged. I continued the exercises at home and enjoyed two years of stability in that the random nerve firings had ceased, and the slight numbness remained confined to those areas I just described.

None of the other horrors of my spine (herniated disks, other stenotic areas) seemed to be producing symptoms, so they were not specifically treated (although they likely benefitted overall from the targeted treatment), and I stopped worrying about them. So that's what PT did for my nerve damage. Until early this year.

It is not unreasonable to expect that arthritic deterioration of the spine (and other joints) will continue. After all, the conditions that initiated the deterioration (age; postural misalignment, specifically, in my case, lumbar scoliosis) are still in effect. My thinking is that continuing PT exercises at home help the body hold onto whatever benefits it derived from the initial treatment AND (hopefully) slow the rate of further deterioration. Was I correct? Would symptoms have returned sooner if I'd not conscientiously continued the PT at home? No point in reflecting further on that, it's all in the past.

Right now I have to face the reality that, starting in January, the symptoms in the right foot and leg have increased a bit, both in intensity and in location. AND that different symptoms have appeared in the left leg (numbness and slight tingling starting around the hip area, and moving down the outside of the leg). In late January, my doctor and I worked out the following treatment plan: (1) immediate PT to treat the left leg; (2) sign up for the 8-wk "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction" class that was starting at our university medical center at the end of February; and (3) schedule weekly acupuncture starting at the end of March. So that's where I am right now.

I hope this has helped you analyze your condition, as to whether you might benefit from PT for the finger numbness possibly produced by stenosis. (I am puzzled, though, as to why cervical stenosis would affect your feet.) It's also possible the finger numbness is caused by carpal tunnel syndrome.....has your doctor mentioned that?

It's reassuring to know that you're functioning well at the present time; I would urge you, though, to reflect a bit on the future (don't obsess, please! I know what THAT"s like.....which is why I'm taking this stress reduction class.....)

My best to you. Pat