What helps spinal stenosis besides surgery?

I would also add that Boston is renowned for having excellent medical care and hospitals. Surely they are on the forefront of many research institutions. I would not hesitate to seek medical opinions in Boston!

@grandmaraines @wisco50 I'm glad you got help from massage. You have to find the right one and you did. Also, I have heard that Boston is excellent for medical care and hospital. I live closer to Mayo at Rochester 31/2 hours away. I had a successful 9 hour fusion surgery and stenosis surgery. I had the most fabulous surgeon. They are rated #1, but sounds like Boston Medical should be #2 or even #1. Best wishes to the both of you.

So did the surgery help? And how much? Thank you.

The two cervical neurologists that I have seen, have both said that my severe stenosis is a very complex issue. I do have head tremors when laying flat but the second I start to move into an upright position the tremor completely stops. I have had an MRI, Xray, brain scan, CT scan, and EMG tests. The results of these tests showed that I have severe stenosis at C4-5, disk bulging at 6-7, disc collapse at c5-6 and c6-7 and retrolisthesis of c5 vertebral body. The complex issue is, that I have ABSOLUTELY no pain, or numbness anywhere. I am a 78 year old female, so the surgeon is recommending surgery because of my age, ( the younger the better) but with the knowledge that there is a chance that my condition does not deteriorate quickly, but there is also a chance that it will deteriorate quickly and if I fall, I could be paralyzed. The surgeon said it will definitly deteriorate at some point, but maybe in 10 years, or maybe in a few months - no telling. Right now I really do not have any pain, but, of course, there is a risk to the surgery - so my thought is both ways I have to balance the risks. I would gratefully thank anyone who has had this surgery or any input at all to help make my decision - surgery or no surgery??

@hat First let me welcome you to Connect. Surgery is always a choice that has to be considered carefully and balance the risks against the rewards. May I ask how physically active are you? Do you enjoy walking and get a bit of exercise for your health? How is your balance? Can you get up from a chair easily?

With aging, for some people, these can be challenges, and possibly lead to a fall. Your surgeon makes a good point, that a fall in your condition can lead to paralysis. I've seen both of my elderly parents fall, get injured, and then require wheelchairs. Fall prevention is really important with aging, spine surgery or not. I have heard of other patients with no pain who are shocked to learn that they have severe spinal stenosis. When you have a vertebrae that can slip and move a lot, it has potential to damage the spinal cord by contacting it. With enough constant pressure on the spinal cord, parts of it can start to die and dissolve, creating disability in what ever body part it were servicing.

There will be trade offs to having surgery with loss of movement of the spine. Spinal stenosis can also lead to incontinence which can become permanent if the spinal cord is not decompressed with surgery. There may be a window of time where you could benefit from surgery, and if you wait too long, it may be too hard on your body to recover or your spine could start fusing itself because of collapsed discs. I don't know when that would be, but it may be worth asking about.

I had spine surgery because of a collapsed C5/C6 disc and also had retrolisthesis. For me surgery was a good choice and I got my life back. There can also be risks to the surgery such as a paralyzed vocal cord from a frontal approach, and difficulty swallowing which could lead to aspiration. Often aspiration pneumonia is a big problem in the elderly. You have to think about how your condition can change as you age further and what gives you the most benefit for preventing problems that could develop. Aspiration was an issue for my dad. These are just a few examples, and it is a big surgery with a long recovery time, but I am so glad I did this. I was in my late 50's at the time.

I would like to ask my fellow mentor Chris @artscaping , if she could share her experience of spine surgery, and also other surgery as an older patient, and the recovery time.

What questions can you think of that you would like to ask your doctors?

I have 'severe degenerative disc disease (myelopathy and stenosis) beginning at c4-c5, and crud up and down my neck.

My neurologist referred me to a pain specialist who wanted to give me shots. But when I told him I was sign up for PT for sciatica an lumbar, he said he'd just add cervical PT to what I was already to get.

I don't have much PAIN in my neck now, but the degeneration of use of my left hand and arm continues, as do other indirect neuropathy, neuralgia, and radiculopathy effects.

I know three people who have had their necks operated on. Two of them some 30 years ago. In those two, one have never missed a beat once his support came off. The other has been on heavy duty narcotic pain stuff since, and has developed several 'disabilities' - some due to pieces off bone left in. His productive life was basically ruined. The third was more recent, within the past five years, and ALSO came out more disabled than he went in. The surgeon copped to touching a nerve. I know HE was doing rehab/PT but have not spoken with him for a spell.

When mine was first discovered MANY tears a go, I opted OUT of the blade. I also had no idea it would digress this far.

Keep us posted.

FYI - closing in on seventy male.

@kaptainkat Thank you for your comments. One question I asked my spine surgeon was what would happen if I don't have decompression surgery? That is important to know what might be lost. I saw my parents difficulty as they were disabled in wheel chairs, and if I had a choice, I didn't want that for myself. I wanted quality of life even though, a compromise is made when having surgery.

The recovery and results of a spine procedure depends on many things. First, not all surgeons are gifted, and it is worth shopping around until you find one who excels in their abilities of their job and who loves their job. That might be harder than it sounds, and it may be worth asking a trusted doctor for a recommendation. The surgeon who operated on me was at Mayo in Rochester.

Some people have multiple levels of spine injury or disease, some have congenital malformations, and some have minimal issues such as myself in having one damaged disc from an injury. Some people are in better shape and have better posture, all of which affects how well the spine is supported which can reduce wear and tear.

The health and fitness of the patient is also very important. Smokers do not heal as well from spine surgery in general, and many surgeons will make them quit smoking before doing a procedure. In general, they have lower levels of oxygen available to the body. Diet is important too because the body needs protein to heal bone that begins before minerals are deposited to harden it. Age is a factor, but aging is also influenced by habits good or bad. If you are eating a healthy balanced diet that reduces systemic inflammation, essentially you are "younger" than someone who eats all the wrong things. What most of us think of as "aging" are health changes because of inflammation.

I am an advocate for always asking questions to be well informed for an important decision such as surgery. Spine surgery has come a long way and is better today than it was 20 years ago. I was loosing the ability to control my arms, and I am an artist, so regaining what I was loosing was very important to me. I didn't find a surgeon willing to help me until I came to Mayo because my case was a bit unusual and confusing. Surgeons have to be very careful not to mistake pain for something else like MS, so it is easy for them to back out if they think a patient will have a poor outcome or they don't understand the source of the pain.

This is my story.
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/using-the-art-of-medicine-to-overcome-fear-of-surgery/

Hi!
I'll be 80 in a couple of days. I have decided not to have anymore surgeries. My lower back & neck are about in the same as yours. I had 4 major surgeries on my lower back in the mid 1980's. I am going to restart PT as soon as they call me. Have you ever done PT in a warm water pool? I have found that most helpful to me. there is also something called Nordic Walking. I am looking into that. I got the long 'hiking sticks' to try it out & hope to find a group. It is more comfortable than a cane. So good luck to you...I thought I was alone in this, but seriously try the warm water pool if you can find one...they are incredible.

I had not thought of warm pool PT, but have inquired about isolation tanks and chambers. Mayhaps a good excuse to join the local YMCA to avail of more than just their spa.

Happiest of birthdays! I am rounding the far corner into 70. The gate is mid January. I refer to myself as 70 as that was MY graduating year. I had not much to do with 69, my elder sibling's grad year.

Pain is relative. What is excruciating to one is barely noticeable to another. We use a 1-10 scale for difficulty and/or pain, and we NEVER want yo be in the '8's.

Whatever that is FOR ME!

I've one more session ere my medicare stops payment - AGAIN, unless I petitioner more - AGAIN. We (my therapist and I) will work on wording again. We learned that they don't want to know how much farther one can walk, they want to know HOW THIS EFFECTS MY LIFESTYLE. 'My continued PT has enabled me to walk for the most part unaided from the Disabled Parking area at to grocery store into the store, where I use an electric cart for my shopping.'

Get my drift?

Keep us updated. And best of bones and joints to you!
(=^..^=)

Good evening @hat. Thanks for the introduction @jenniferhunter. I have to admit that I am not as medically prepared as Jennifer. All I knew in 2013 is that my arms were painful and also had tingling and numbness. I thought these symptoms were just left over from a reverse shoulder surgery after falling down a mountain. What was actually happening was related to a pretty devastating fall from my Arabian gelding. After that fall, I was "hung" in a hammock-like sling over the bed in the hospital for several days. I didn't pay attention very well and insisted on continuing to play volleyball without any consideration of the healing going on in my neck.

For the fusion to take place well, my surgeon insisted that I spend three months in a complicated neck brace both day and night. He was quite insistent and followed up with me to make sure I had a good chance of full recovery.

I am now 80 years old and I thank him every day for being so insistent. Although my neck cracks and pops, I am not in pain. I have two MFR (myofascial release) sessions every week and one of my two therapists begins with the neck. I know that the treatment is working when I can turn my head from one side to the other smoothly and without pain while lying on my back.

As Jennifer knows, I am a "Quality of Life" advocate. I will have surgery regardless of age if it means that my life will be enriched. What I see is that many older folks postpone corrective surgery not realizing that even at 80 they deserve to be all they can be.

In the last two years, I took stock of my aging body, sought information, and chose medical practitioners who I trusted to make me "better"! So, the list so far has included, a second TKR, total knee replacement, a second thumb joint surgery on my right hand, cataract surgery, and monitoring of my aging eyes. This year I also was fitted for my first pair of hearing aids, and last but not least, I went through urological testing and recently had bladder sling surgery. Now, I can play with the grandchildren, walk a couple of miles along the river, and sit for three hours of Mahjongg.

Yes, pre-surgery preparation is a must and I am now involved in a post-surgery program that hopefully will prevent stumbles and falls.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris