Spinal stenosis puts pressure on your spinal cord or spinal nerves and can cause pain and numbness in the legs, buttocks, feet, back, neck, arms, hands or shoulders. Other symptoms might include lack of coordination and weakness in the limbs as well as loss of sensation in lower extremities, as well as issues with bladder or bowel function. Most commonly, spinal stenosis happens in the neck and lower back. Symptoms can vary and many times patients won’t have pain associated with the condition. MRI’s will confirm spinal stenosis. If you have spinal stenosis in the lower back, the compressed nerves will often make standing or walking for long periods of time difficult and uncomfortable. The pain is relieved with bending forward and sitting. People most likely to develop this condition are individuals over age 50 and those that have inherited conditions that increase the risk of developing it, such as individuals that have smaller spinal canals.
