Spinal Stenosis:
Is Your Walking Distance Getting Shorter?
Do you often feel the need to stop and rest while walking? Or does that uncomfortable pain in your legs ease when you lean forward? If these symptoms sound familiar, you may be experiencing what is commonly known as osteoarthritis but is medically termed spinal stenosis. This condition, which we often encounter with advancing age, is not an inevitable fate that must lower your quality of life.
What is Spinal Stenosis?
Spinal stenosis is, in simple terms, the narrowing of the channels through which the spinal cord and nerves pass over time. In a healthy spine, the nerves pass comfortably through a wide tunnel. However, this tunnel can narrow due to aging, genetic factors, or degeneration (wear and tear) of the spine.
When spinal stenosis occurs, the narrowing tunnel begins to put pressure on the nerves. Just as pressing on a water hose disrupts the flow of water, this pressure on the nerves affects the signals going to the legs, causing pain and numbness.
What Are the Symptoms of Spinal Stenosis?
Our patients usually come to our clinic complaining that they “can't walk as far as they used to.” The most common symptoms are:
Neurogenic Claudication (Window Shopping Syndrome): After walking a certain distance, pain, cramps, or numbness begins in the legs. The pain subsides when the person stops and rests or leans forward (for example, when standing as if looking at a shop window).
Leg Weakness: Difficulty carrying the body weight when climbing stairs or standing for long periods of time.
Loss of Balance: Impaired walking balance in advanced stages of narrowing.
Lower Back and Hip Pain: The pain usually starts in the lower back and spreads to the hips and legs.
What causes it? Who does it occur in?
Spinal stenosis is commonly seen in individuals aged 50 and older. The primary cause is the natural aging process of the spine. The loss of fluid content in the discs and their hardening (disc degeneration), thickening of the joints, and loss of elasticity in the connective tissues are the main factors that narrow the canal. However, it can also occur at younger ages due to congenital (present from birth) narrowing.
Spinal Stenosis Treatment: Is Surgery Necessary?
Surgery is not the first option for every patient diagnosed with spinal stenosis. The patient's quality of life, pain level, and neurological examination findings are decisive in treatment planning.
1. Non-Surgical Methods (Conservative Treatment)
For mild to moderate narrowing, we first resort to non-surgical methods:
Medication treatments (Pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs)
Physical therapy and rehabilitation exercises
Epidural steroid injections (Commonly known as “back injections”)
2. Surgical Treatment (Canal Stenosis Surgery)
If the patient's walking distance has become too short to maintain their daily life, if there is significant muscle weakness in the legs, or if advanced neurological symptoms such as urinary incontinence have appeared, surgical intervention becomes necessary.
Today, spinal canal stenosis surgeries can be performed extremely safely using microsurgical techniques and, when necessary, instrumentation (screw-plate application). Our goal is to relieve pressure on the nerves, allowing our patients to regain freedom of movement without pain.
You don't have to live with pain. Spinal stenosis is a condition that can be managed with the right diagnosis and expert approach. If you are experiencing difficulty walking and feel that your quality of life has declined, it is important to consult a spine surgery specialist for the right treatment plan.
