Good morning, Mary. Oh gosh, I’m so sorry to hear about your horrible back pain. You’re not alone in this agonizing condition of Spinal stenosis.
I have several friends dealing with the same situation, and unfortunately it comes with the territory of our bodies aging. Often osteoarthritis and osteoporosis being the biggest culprits.

You’re right in that nerves do go through the spinal cord. It is the heart of our central nervous system. Spinal stenosis refers to a narrowing of the spinal canal which can then affect the functioning of the nerves running to the rest of the body. That means that spinal stenosis can effect nerve functioning (causing neuropathy), say, in the legs, or elsewhere. The problem is the impinging of the nerves by the narrowed spinal canal.

Our own Mayo Clinic has a great informational article you might find interesting…just to get you started. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-stenosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352961

Here’s also a podcast by Dr Curry talking about treatments for the condition.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/podcasts/newsfeed-post/spinal-stenosis-1/

There are also several conversations in our Connect forum with fellow members having spinal stenosis. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/spinal-stenosis-neck/?commentsorder=newest#chv4-comment-stream-header

Did your doctor have any suggestions for you going forward as to treatments?