That is a good question! Spine surgeons are not sure what is best for
spinal stenosis, still
conservative care is gathering more
and more attention in the medical research! Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic
gives
non-surgical care
that
is quite soothing to Eugene spinal stenosis sufferers. Chiropractic patients
in Eugene who havespinal
stenosis know come to Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic will find our care gentle and
comfortable and praise the
research and
guidelines backing its administration.
You may be
thinking, “what is spinal stenosis?”. Spinal
stenosis is what happens when the spinal canal area is narrowed.
In particular
lumbar spinal stenosis happens
as we age for many of us when degeneration of the spine occurs. One reason this happens may be due to how the
spinal elements were
constructed from the beginning. (Some people are born with narrow spinal canals.) It
could also be a disc
herniation that is inserting itself into the spinal canal, taking up the space that is meant for the spinal nerves. Regardless
of the cause, spinal stenosis’ narrowing creates
pain.
Surgeons see
spinal stenosis and provide surgical options to broaden
that narrowed space. There are many paths
from which one may pick. One procedure
is decompressive surgery. It is cost-effective for lumbar spinal stenosis, but surgical and conservative
treatment approaches result in comparable quality of life at one year follow
up.
(1) Spinal stenosis can also be fought
with spinal fusion. A Cochrane Database Review, a big deal in the world of
research, reports that there is no significant
difference at 6 months and 12 months post spine surgery for lumbar spinal
stenosis. Cochrane pulled from 12,966 citations to conclude
further that they have very little confidence to determine whether surgical or
conservative care is better for lumbar spinal stenosis. They, therefore, offer
no new clinical practice recommendations for doctors to follow. They do
emphasize though that side-effects
from surgery range from 10% to 24% and side effects from conservative
care, 0%. There
were no side effects from conservative care for lumbar spine stenosis in their
review. Further,
they report that there
were no clear benefits seen with surgery versus no surgery. They warn clinicians to carefully
inform patients about possible treatment options “especially given that
conservative treatment options have results in no reported side effects.”
(2)
When lumbar spinal stenosis is causing you
pain,
contact Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic, the Eugene chiropractic
practice for gentle relief of back pain. Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic
chiropractic care at Eugene
may definitely be the answer to the
question of “how to alleviate my pain from spinal stenosis?” for you!
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."