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Please describe your spinal stenosis pain. I'm confused.
I was diagnosed recently with spinal stenosis but it was by accident from a scan done for a different reason.
The pain I’m having comes and goes for long lengths of time. I feel it all the way across the lower back and sort of just above that, slightly above the waist. It’s a gnawing pain. Almost like bad menstrual cramps. I’m not sure if it’s even caused by the stenosis and don’t want to pursue invasive treatments if this is something else. It’s been difficult in this very rural area to get a definitive answer. Thank you!
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Retired PT here. As mentioned above, there can be a variety of causes of the stenosis and it can be central, foraminal or lateral recesses or any combo of the above. I was diagnosed with severe multi level stenosis of the thoracic and lumbar region over 10 years ago. Also had severe cervical stenosis with a 4 level decompression lami in 2009; in that case, pain was not the issue but balance and coordination and spasticity were a problem. As far as my TL stenosis goes, my aching low back pain occurs mostly with prolonged standing or walking more than a couple hundred yards without support. Using a cane or walking staff helps greatly to unload my spine and then I can walk/ hike miles. My chief complaint lately is a feeling of tightness in my left foot (like wearing a tight sock) and fatigue/ sluggishness in my legs, like I’m trudging through knee deep water or my legs have only one gear… slow! Very similar to what I experienced before the cervical decompression so I have a consult with an ortho spine surgeon next week. I was facing major surgery 8 years ago because I was having lower extremity radicular symptoms
(numbness, tingling, pins and needles and muscular weakness) but then went through a double course of Medrol, lost 35 lbs and took up swimming. So far I have been able to avoid surgery. Should you begin to experience sudden onset of loss of bladder or bowel control, definitely be seen immediately. Good luck to you! Spinal stenosis does not always require surgery!