Spinal Stenosis

[Bullet1]

Anybody on here have spinal stenosis (degeneration of the bone in the back causing pinching of the nerves)? If so what path did you take - Pain managment or surgery? Why did you choose what you chose and did it help? Are you back to 100% now? After how long? I know this was a lot of questions, but I am trying to find the best route for me. Thanks!!!!

[rab71]

My Mom has it and she gets steroid shots. Also a lady in my office has it. She actually just deals with the pain. Crazy! She had a spinal tap with NO pain meds! One tough lady!

[nocturnalnature]

I have severe spinal stenosis. I also have systemic mastocytosis which makes me allerigc to narcotics as well as anesthesia. Both send me into anaphylactic shock which is completely terrifying and potentially life threatening.
I cannot have surgery however did get the epidural shots into the spinal column without the numbing agents. Its not horribly painful but it is rather uncomfortable.
After several treatments they became ineffective as well.
I then moved to alternatives such as acupuncture and physical therapy but none gave me any relief whatsoever. Surpisingly weight lifting has caused the greatest improvement of anything I have tried.
I wish I could give you a bright outlook but in my case at least it is just something i've learned to live with. I hope you have more alternatives than I do LOL!

[jtroster]

My wife has spinal stenosis that is pinching the sciatic nerve on the left side. She has had the first on 3 epidural cortisone shots and has seen some improvement already. However, the underlying condition will not go away with the shots so she has an appointment with a neurosurgeon next month.

[Xev]

I have spinal stenosis and a bilateral rupture of the disc. I'm having vertebral fusion surgery on Wednesday. Right now I can barely walk and sitting down really aggravates the sciatic nerve in my left leg. So my only non-painful position is lying face down on the bed. Muscle relaxers are the only way I can get any sleep. The spinal injections are ok as long as the disc is just inflamed and not severely damaged. I've found that once the disc has been damaged to a certain degree the steroids only reduce the pain slightly. Get an MRI and the solution should be obvious to a qualified doctor.

[puciorek]

I have been dealing with spinal canal stenosis (narrowing of spinal canal) in the mid and lower lumbar spine.
I also have small central disc protrusion. I have been dealing with this sh...t since 2000.
It pisses mi off because I have to live in constant pain. Just recently, I have lost my job and my health insurance and I am afraid that my next health insurance will decline me or raise the premiums for my preexisting conditions. I feel that this is very unfair, I have not caused this condition but this was given to me by my parents. When my children were born, I had a great problem carrying them around. About two or three years ago, I underwent the physical therapy where they showed me how to exercise my lower back and lower abdominal muscles. At that time, due to the pain I was drinking heavily, I also wasn't really careful about my diet. My weight exceeded 210 lbs. It wasn't too bad comparing to some other people, however, more weight I gained the harder it was on my lower back.
Then, I also started experiencing pain traveling down in my left leg. I turned for help to the chiropractor. Unfortunately, she was only able to provide me with a temporary help. My work required me to spend a lot of time behind computer. Standing up always was a bich.
My doctor recommended for me to visit a neurosurgeon for consultation. He informed that eventually I will require the surgical procedure. He said it will not be easy and there is only a 75% chance that it will go well.
About a year and half ago I first started to exercise, first push ups, then crunches and leg raises. I also started to decrease my weight, I was able to loose close to 30 lbs and decrease my body weight to 180 lbs. At first, leg raises gave my a lot of pain, however with the time it had gotten better. Later, to make it even more difficult, I added extra weight to my legs to make this exercise even more difficult. Here is the progress photo.
For the last six months, I have joined a local gym and quiet frankly spend there awful a lot of time. I am in much better shape, my lower back doesn't hurt as much as it did before.
Also, I am able to do weight lifting exercises that I have done when I was a teenager.
Unfortunately, I have to be very careful and not go crazy with weights. In addition, I am not able to do certain back exercises such as squats.
As far as the future is concerned, I am not sure how long will I be able to lift weights. One thing that I found out myself is how much weight lifting helped me to strengthen my back.
Good luck to you.
Best regards

[agsuper]

I have spinal stenosis and a bilateral rupture of the disc. I'm having vertebral fusion surgery on Wednesday. Right now I can barely walk and sitting down really aggravates the sciatic nerve in my left leg. So my only non-painful position is lying face down on the bed. Muscle relaxers are the only way I can get any sleep. The spinal injections are ok as long as the disc is just inflamed and not severely damaged. I've found that once the disc has been damaged to a certain degree the steroids only reduce the pain slightly. Get an MRI and the solution should be obvious to a qualified doctor.

Good luck with the fusion surgery. Had 2 levels fused in my c spine two years ago.

[Xev]

Good luck with the fusion surgery. Had 2 levels fused in my c spine two years ago.

Thanks man, I appreciate the sentiment. How has your rehab gone? Did you have any bad effects from the surgery? I'm thinking of starting a workout journal when the rehab starts (or maybe as soon as I can type after surgery). Might be a good reference for people with questions in the future.

[agsuper]

Thanks man, I appreciate the sentiment. How has your rehab gone? Did you have any bad effects from the surgery? I'm thinking of starting a workout journal when the rehab starts (or maybe as soon as I can type after surgery). Might be a good reference for people with questions in the future.

I did real well for a couple of years regaining the strength I lost etc. Recently I pinched another nerve in the c-spine which is wreaking havoc with my neck plus I have a lumbar bulge to boot. I would recommend the surgery to anyone if you need it. There are quite a few people here who have returned to lifting after fusion.

[kathyfit]

I have severe spinal stenosis. I also have systemic mastocytosis which makes me allerigc to narcotics as well as anesthesia. Both send me into anaphylactic shock which is completely terrifying and potentially life threatening.
I cannot have surgery however did get the epidural shots into the spinal column without the numbing agents. Its not horribly painful but it is rather uncomfortable.
After several treatments they became ineffective as well.
I then moved to alternatives such as acupuncture and physical therapy but none gave me any relief whatsoever. Surpisingly weight lifting has caused the greatest improvement of anything I have tried.
I wish I could give you a bright outlook but in my case at least it is just something i've learned to live with. I hope you have more alternatives than I do LOL!

My husband deals with stenosis in his cervical and lumbar areas. He will not do shots or surgery, Dr. actually said lifting weights has helped his condition.

[S2HSr]

Anybody on here have spinal stenosis (degeneration of the bone in the back causing pinching of the nerves)? If so what path did you take - Pain managment or surgery? Why did you choose what you chose and did it help? Are you back to 100% now? After how long? I know this was a lot of questions, but I am trying to find the best route for me. Thanks!!!!

I'm 46 and have thoracic and cervical stenosis. It's been bothering me for that past 3-4 years and getting worse. All upper body weight training aggravates the condition. Oral steroids (Prednisone) helped alot but cannot be sustained long term. Injections helped a little bit but not the long term answer. Muscle relaxants (Methocarbamol) and Tylenol PM help me sleep (my poor liver!). Next week I meet with a neurosurgeon and orthopedic surgeon that specializes in spinal stenosis. I'll know more after these consultations. I plan on lifting hard, well into my 60's and won't let a degenerative disease stop me. I'd love to hear from someone that has made a dynamic comeback -- post surgery.

[TheIronMaster]

I have it. Training the back muscles has helped tremendously. I took my mri results to a sports doctor and he told me how to go about it.

[beachguy498]

I have a very similar thoracic injury from a car accident. I've been to PT (no help), acupuncture (almost no help), chiropractor (moderate help). The chiropractor has got the vertabrae back in position, I also had a large space between 2 of them which is closing up.

I'm still in pain management (have an appt today) and have had trigger point injections, epidurals, facet block, intercostal rib injections. Some of the injections have helped for several days, nothing long-lasting. I do get a pretty good Rx for pain medication.

I did see a good spinal surgeon who went over everything and said surgery wouldn't help my condition.

I'm still lifting and so far I'm not making things worse. I'm also working the back muscles more. Long term, I may be a candidate for a pain-pump which requires surgery to install... fun.

Rob

[TouaregV8]

I have degenerative disc disease along with spinal stenosis. Over the years I have treated it with conservative care, epidural injections, and underwent endoscopic discectomy surgery (2 levels) in 2002. I still have flare-ups from time to time but overall I'm doing pretty well compared to some.

[beachguy498]

I have degenerative disc disease along with spinal stenosis. Over the years I have treated it with conservative care, epidural injections, and underwent endoscopic discectomy surgery (2 levels) in 2002. I still have flare-ups from time to time but overall I'm doing pretty well compared to some.

I wish I was doing as well, but good for you. I had my pain management appt today, seems like any approach to where I feel the pain (T7/T10) is not working. I do have my worse herniation up higher (C7/T1) so they are having me get a new MRI since the past one is pretty old.

Rob

[Jrob69]

I wish I was doing as well, but good for you. I had my pain management appt today, seems like any approach to where I feel the pain (T7/T10) is not working. I do have my worse herniation up higher (C7/T1) so they are having me get a new MRI since the past one is pretty old.

Rob

That sucks man, hope for the best. Pain management appointments sucked for me, never really takes a way the pain just the caring about the pain.

[gogonana]

Anybody on here have spinal stenosis (degeneration of the bone in the back causing pinching of the nerves)? If so what path did you take - Pain managment or surgery? Why did you choose what you chose and did it help? Are you back to 100% now? After how long? I know this was a lot of questions, but I am trying to find the best route for me. Thanks!!!!

Greetings: I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis last year (2013) I was in severe pain in my lower lumbar area L4, L5 and down my left leg to the point I could not walk without a cane or get up in down without assistance. The pain was so bad I could not sleep or find a position that was comfortable. I started acupuncture with a traditional Chinese Doctor who has been practicing for years. I go once a week and the treatment has helped me to manage my pain without drugs. I get around a lot better. I chose this method because my medical doctor told me if I do the surgery it does not guarantee that I will experience improvement and surgery is not a cure. I am not a hundred percent but I feel a lot better. I have been informed by a friend who knows someone who did go the route of acupuncture and is 100% back to functioning without pain. My Acupuncturist said I need to come once a week for 3 months to get to that level. it's expensive so I generally go when I can afford it as I pay out of pocket. I am able to rest a lot better. I hope this is helpful I emphasize an experience Acupuncture doctor because when I went away I had to find a doctor while on vacation but in doing so I did not get the same results as my doctor so I was glad to return home and see him again because he is excellent and knows what he's doing.

[chickeneater]

I've had all the above diagnosis's and then some.

I too was addicted to the back pain industry.

Then, Sarno came into my life.

Just the other day I was cleaning my basement, and came across all my dusty old MRI/CT scans, showing all the abnormalities that I used to hold up to the window and obsess over about what can I do, and how my life was over. Pure horror.

Thank God for Sarno.

[Georgeoz]

I have found that regular ,but never provoking, weight lifting works to some extent. So - squats, dead lifts, leg extensions, back kicks, heel raises, each and every day. Then I've had the steroid injection, which brought back more normal nerve function, so I now feel my ****ed knees rather more acutely.

Also, I have a back stretching contraption, invented and made in Oz, called Nubax. This opens up the tissue between the discs and is really effective.

But the best is my regular osteopathic treatments, and these really help. Work through the pain, take an NSAID or two if you must and get on with it. This has lasted me for many years, and I am now 79.

[Georgeoz]

And I object to some nameless wimp deleting what they imagine to be an inappropriate word. Why should we walk away from saying and writing what everyone I have ever known regards as the most desirable and enjoyable activity known to mankind. You Americans are such pussies.(Or will someone delete that word, too?)

[Anarchist69]

I had been diagnosed with spinal stenosis in L5 S1. First 3 neuro surgeons suggested me surgery to decompress the damaged nerve without any guarantee of complete recovery. According to them, I might never do any sports or running with or without surgery excpet for swimming. Being a tough ex-sportsman, I chose not to settle for anything less than complete recovery and surgery was going to remove a part of my back bone for decompression which would itself create weakness.
That's where i took the other way and found a doctor who got convinced to help me in non-surgical treatment. He made me start with muscle relaxant and oral steroids to reduce pain and recover a little. After a month i chose to get off medicine. Start physio therapy which helped a lot. Meanwhile, I never stopped taking long walks and increased the laps gradually. Against the advice of doctor, I took a little run one day, i in fact felt stronger and experienced lesser pain afterwards. Kept making small increases in length for jogging. Weightloss was an amazing help. Doctor were amazed to see the progress but none of them allowed me to start lifting. But all this time I have become a habitual rebel so..... 😉

[beachguy498]

I've had a couple of recent MRIs taken of my neck and thoracic spine. Pretty stable, nothing new going on. Pain management is now looking at my right shoulder. I believe I have a dorsal-scapular nerve entrapment. I saw a spinal surgeon last month, they do not recommend any surgery which is good news. If pain management can do a successful DSN block, I may be okay for a while. I still may be going for shoulder surgery, but figure I'll give pain management the first crack at it.

I had a series of selective nerve blocks of my C3 to C6 nerve roots that didn't work. Meaning that the dorsal nerve or brachial plexus (in the same area) are more likely the problem. If I'm out of pain, I can train. Yesterday was not a good gym day, 20 mg of pain pills didn't help much.

[Str0ngMike]

Old thread I know but I just found it. I am 30 years old and was
Diagnosed with spinal stenosis when I was only 26 years old. I have been weight lifting my entire life with serious lifting starting when I was 14 years old. I was repping out 5 plates on each side on squats and deadlifts from age 17-26. Not sure if that aided with my early onset of spinal stenosis. Powerlifting was my favorite hobby in life and a huge part of it, when I found out I had this issue at such a young age it was very depressing for me.

I found out I had it because I kept pinching nerves during squats and deadlifts. I am 6ft tall and when I was 26 I weighed about 215lbs. After I found out I had this I continued to try to work out because I did not want to give in to the fact that I could no longer do squats or deadlifts at such a young age. I kept a pinching nerves over and over. I became very depressed and stopped going to the gym. I would go in every now and then but nothing much. At the beginning of this year in February I decided to give it another try.

I was down to 190lbs, I had retained some muscle due to infrequent exercise and running. I did some warm up deadlifts and as I increased the weight, BOOM, pinched a nerve deadlifting 275lbs. I lay in bed for three days upset at myself but still motivated. I came to the realization that the bench press didn’t hurt my back and I could be a one trick pony and still get some powerlifting joy back.

Since February my workouts have been focused on strengthening my back and increasing my bench press. My body weight is currently 230lbs. My bench press has gone up from 275lbs to 430lbs. I have successfully squatted and deadlifted 405lbs. The weight was easy and my back held up but not trying to push my luck in that department too much just yet.

I have a powerlifting meet coming up on March 1st where I will be competing in the bench only raw division. I have also been training in some strongman exercises and am considering joining a strongman competition in the novice class to see how it goes.

I am going to go back to a sports doctor sometime probably this year to get a new mri, curious to see the results.

[willybrokeback]

I wish I was doing as well, but good for you. I had my pain management appt today, seems like any approach to where I feel the pain (T7/T10) is not working. I do have my worse herniation up higher (C7/T1) so they are having me get a new MRI since the past one is pretty old.

Rob

I had fusion at T8-9 and 9-10. I think I had 13 bulges at the time of my surgery. He also cut a calcified ligament out of my spinal column. The surgery was a bastard and the recovery from T spine surgery takes quite a bit longer than some other spinal surgeries. Eventually I got back to weight lifting but the injury, recovery and eating like a body builder got my weight up. I still hurt and sometimes have to lie down, sometimes I take the pain meds, and I watch overhead pressing, squatting and DL but I found a new normal and am pretty functional in the gym (I even play hockey on Sundays), so there is hope. I hit a bench PR which was pretty cool. Good luck and I hope things get better.