@wil24 Susan, thanks for your reply. My gut feeling is that your job is too physical and demanding for a person with a spine condition. Heavy lifting, bending and twisting is hard on the spine and is risky when there is already a spine injury. I can't give you that advice, but please do ask your surgeon about what job restrictions you should have and would have after surgery. That is an official recommendation in writing that tells your employer what you can and can't do. Most employers require this on returning to work. The spinal discs are cushions and if you have collapsing or herniated discs, they could get worse with added pressure on them and make stenosis worse or even cause the growth of bone spurs in the spinal canal. Your family doctor is right about a paralysis risk. If you are out of space around the spinal cord because of stenosis, an injury like a whiplash that moves the spine abruptly will put pressure on the spinal cord and may do damage. The spinal cord has to be able to move within the central canal, and it may get tethered by stenosis. As for spinal injections, surgeons tend to use that as a diagnostic because if they relieve some pain because it decreases inflammation and buys a little space, it tells the surgeon what you might expect that the surgery will fix. That advice has to come from the surgeon as all cases are different. You'll have to discuss the injection with the doctor. I had one and had an adverse reaction to it and I declined to do any more. Sometimes injections are used to postpone surgery or because the surgeon doesn't want to assume the risk of doing the surgery. They should be able to understand your case from the imaging and your symptoms as well as their exam.

Good luck with your appointment!

Jennifer