Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal and its exiting nerve roots due to a variety of reasons. This causes radiating pain in the lower limbs leading upto the foot and ankle.
Due to the severe compression of the spinal cord and its nerve roots, the blood supply to the cord and nerve roots is compromised which causes severe and often debilitating pain which radiated from the lower back to the buttocks and often upto the foot and ankle. This puts a severe physical, social and psychological stress on the patients.
Podiatric physicians, who focus on the patient’s lower extremities, are in a unique position to be able to identify spinal stenosis and facilitate appropriate treatment.
SYMPTOMS :
Symptoms include one or many of the following:-
Radiating pain from lower back upto the uncle.
Tingling sensation or burning sensation in the lower limbs.
Pain and crampy feeling, which gets aggravated upon walking or standing for long hours and get relieved by taking rest.
Burning pain in the feet and legs.
Inability or difficulty walking more than 5-10mins.
CAUSES :-
Various conditions can lead to this problem, some of the most common ones include,
slipped disc, arthritis of the spine, infection, congenitally narrow canal or tumours.
RISK FACTORS :-
Prolonged sitting jobs.
Sedentary lifestyle.
Jobs/work involving lifting weights.
Osteoporosis.
COMPLICATIONS:-
Misdiagnosis or missed-diagnosis or even ignorance on behalf of the patients can often lead to severely debilitating life including weakness, paralysis, constant and severe pain, inability to do daily household work, often and regular sick leaves from work.
DIAGNOSIS :-
Spinal stenosis is often diagnosed on an MRI of the spine and often includes xrays of the spine for additional information on the status of the spine. Along with such radiological investigation and thorough clinical examination helps the doctor assess and recommend the best course of treatment individualized for their patients.
TREAMENT:-
Most of the patients with spinal stenosis can be treated conservatively with medications and physiotherapy. In severe cases, patients require surgery to remove the compression of the nerve and cord so as to free up the nerve. This is usually decided by your doctor depending on the duration and severity of the disease.
To know more: https://www.murarihealthcare.com/how-spinal-stenosis-can-cause-symptoms-of-the-foot-2/