Spinal Stenosis

What is Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal and foramen, which results in “pinching” of the spinal cord and/or nerve roots.

Spinal Stenosis usually involves in some capacity the narrowing of:

• The spinal canal in the centre of the column of bones (spinal column) through which your spinal cord and nerve roots pass.
• The spinal foramen openings between your spinal vertebrae through which peripheral nerves leave the spine and go to other parts of the body.

What Causes a Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis most often results from a gradual, degenerative ageing process of your spine. As you age, the ligaments of your spine may thicken and calcify, and start to compromise the adjacent tunnels. Your bones and joints also tend to enlarge due to increased bone stress and cause bone spurs, which encroach on the spine’s space. Your spinal discs, between the vertebrae, become dehydrated with age and lose their height. This disc narrowing can deteriorate quicker with injury eg disc bulges or degenerative disc disease.

Osteoarthritis of your spine (spondylosis) is the most common form of spine arthritis and is more likely to occur in middle-aged and older people. It is a chronic, degenerative process. It is the result of everyday wear and tear of the spine joints and is often accompanied by overgrowth of bone, the formation of bone spurs, which can cause spinal stenosis.

Spinal stenosis is most common in men and women over 50 years of age and is related to degenerative changes in the spine. However, it may occur in younger people who are born with a narrowing of the spinal canal or who suffer an injury to the spine.