Many elderly people suspect that they have lumbar disc herniation when they have lower back and leg pain. In fact, the majority of patients with true lumbar disc herniation are middle-aged and young, while the common lower back and leg pain in the elderly is often caused by spinal stenosis. When it comes to lumbar disc herniation, many people may be familiar with it and have a rough idea of what it is. However, how is lumbar spinal stenosis formed and how should it be treated? Many people may not be very clear about this issue, so today we will talk about spinal stenosis with everyone.
Overview of spinal stenosis
The spine is composed of perforated bones that stack together to form the spinal canal. The spinal cord mainly runs through the spinal canal, and it branches into many nerve roots. These nerve roots exit through the intervertebral foramen on both sides of the spinal canal.
After entering middle and old age, the structure of the lumbar spinal canal will undergo degeneration and hyperplasia, the bone of the lumbar vertebrae will increase, the water in the lumbar intervertebral disc will be lost, the elasticity will decrease, and the lumbar intervertebral disc will bulge or even protrude. The surrounding soft tissues will proliferate and thicken in order to maintain the stability of the spine, resulting in a decrease in the space around the nerves and compression. Spinal stenosis can be divided into two types: congenital and acquired.
How to determine if you have lumbar spinal stenosis?
Generally, meeting the following 2-3 conditions indicates a high possibility of having lumbar spinal stenosis.
1. Lower back pain: At the beginning, lower back pain is relatively mild, mainly characterized by numbness and swelling, often accompanied by lower limb pain and numbness. Over time, the symptoms will gradually become more severe.
2. Intermittent claudication: After walking a certain distance, symptoms such as lower back pain, leg pain, leg numbness, and weakness may appear. After bending over or sitting down to rest, these symptoms will alleviate or disappear, and walking can still continue. After walking a certain distance, the above process and state will reappear. This phenomenon is medically known as intermittent claudication.
3. Restricted lumbar extension: When the waist is extended backwards, symptoms such as lower back pain and leg numbness may occur, or the existing symptoms such as lower back pain and leg numbness may worsen, but the symptoms can be relieved after bending over.
4. People aged 40 and above.
Once diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis, it is recommended to seek timely treatment, otherwise it may lead to shorter walking distance, increased pain, urinary incontinence, and even paralysis.
Differentiation and differentiation between lumbar spinal stenosis and other diseases
Patients with chronic arterial insufficiency in the lower limbs may also experience vasogenic claudication symptoms, but usually the claudication symptoms can be relieved by resting for a moment, and the symptoms worsen when walking up the mountain or riding a bicycle. The neurogenic claudication symptoms of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis may require longer rest time and require sitting, squatting, or bending down to improve.
How to treat lumbar spinal stenosis?
1. Conservative treatment: Bed rest, continuous lumbar traction, shortwave therapy, and lumbar muscle strength training can all provide short-term relief to clinical symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis.
2. Surgical treatment: If lumbar spinal stenosis causes pain, limited mobility, and persistent symptoms of leg muscle weakness, conservative treatment is ineffective and surgical treatment needs to be considered.
Surgical relief of lumbar spinal stenosis and removal of nerve compression can alleviate clinical symptoms caused by lumbar spinal stenosis. The patient suffers from lumbar spinal stenosis, and early treatment is necessary to quickly control clinical symptoms. Otherwise, if the symptoms persist, it will seriously affect the lower limb motor function. The patient is unable to walk with heavy loads or complete physical movements.
Doctor's reminder: The treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis depends on the symptoms. When the condition is mild, pay attention to rest, and cooperate with massage, acupuncture and moxibustion, massage, medicine and other treatments to alleviate the symptoms. But if the symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis are severe, surgical treatment needs to be considered.
How do patients with lumbar spinal stenosis usually take care of their waist?
1. Bed selection: It is recommended that patients with lumbar spinal stenosis choose a bed with moderate hardness when sleeping, such as a hard board bed or a palm bed.
2. Pay attention to keeping warm: Traditional Chinese medicine believes that wind, cold, and dampness can bring evil qi to the body, especially when there are problems with the waist. External wind and cold can easily be invaded by evil qi, affecting treatment effectiveness or worsening the condition.
3. Avoid bending over for a long time: Avoid keeping your waist in one position for a long time, such as bending over to work or playing games.
4. Use a wide waist belt for waist protection: For patients with high labor intensity or long-term desk work, it is recommended to wear a protective wide waist belt.
That's all for today's introduction about lumbar spinal stenosis. Have you learned about it through science popularization?