What are the treatments for acute spinal stenosis?

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Acute spinal stenosis is characterized by pain caused by the narrowing of areas in your back. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most common cause of spinal stenosis is osteoarthritis. Other causes may include herniated discs, degeneration of your ligaments, spinal tumors and injury to your back. Treatments may include medication or surgery.

Physical Therapy

Your doctor may prescribe physical therapy to help with flexibility and build strength. This will help to stabilize your spine and may ease the symptoms. Walking and moderate rest is also a course of treatment your doctor may recommend.

NSAID Pain Relievers

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs help to ease pain and reduce inflammation. Ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen are examples of NSAIDs.

Analgesics

Unlike NSAIDs, analgesic pain relievers only help to ease the pain. They do not treat inflammation but can be a good choice if you cannot tolerate NSAIDs. Acetaminophen falls into this category of pain relievers.

Epidural Steroid Injections

Corticosteroids injected into the spinal fluid located around your spinal cord helps to relieve pain and inflammation. In some cases, a single injection can alleviate the pain and inflammation from acute spinal stenosis.

Laminoctomy and Laminotomy

To relieve pressure in your spine, your doctor may recommend surgery. Decompressive laminectomy removes the back part of the bone in the spinal cord. This gives the nerves more room and the surgeon access to any bone spurs that may need to be removed.

A laminotomy removes only a portion of the back part of the bone. Your surgeon can then treat any spurs or compressed discs causing pain.

Spinal Fusion

Your surgeon may fuse your spine with or without a laminectomy. In this operation vertebra are fused together with bone, rods or wires. This surgery is effective when pain is caused by slipped discs.

Source:

Mayo Clinic: Spinal Stenosis

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What are the treatments for acute spinal stenosis?

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