Spinal stenosis happens when the spaces in your spine narrow, adding pressure to your spinal cord and surrounding nerves. While anyone can experience it, your odds go up with increasing age.
Once spinal stenosis sets in, symptoms often include numbness, tingling, extremity weakness, balance problems, and neck pain. There’s no sure way to prevent all of that, but you can take steps to protect your spine, lowering your risk of severe symptoms and complications.
Our expert team at Houston Pain Specialists, led by board-certified pain management specialist Hui Kang, MD, creates personalized treatment plans to help you manage discomfort related to spinal stenosis.
Here’s a look at proven ways to protect your spine as you age so you may not need intense treatment.
Exercise promotes spine health by strengthening surrounding muscles, supporting bone strength, keeping you flexible, and improving circulation. Low-impact activities are especially good for spine health because they limit the impact on your joints.
Examples of spine-supportive, low-impact activities include swimming, walking, glute bridges, planks, and slow, controlled yoga. While you’re engaging in these activities, make sure you use good form and proper equipment.
Most adults benefit from at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise, or 30 minutes a day six times per week. Strength training benefits stem from at least two sessions per week.
Good posture keeps your vertebrae in healthy alignment. This limits disc degeneration, guards against strain from unevenness, and helps prevent bone spurs that fuel spinal canal narrowing.
When you’re sitting at a desk or table, aim to keep your hips, knees, and elbows bent at a roughly 90-degree angle. While standing, relax your back and shoulders and engage your core muscles. Meanwhile, keep your head lined up with your shoulders.
Smoking doesn’t cause spinal stenosis, but it can significantly exacerbate your symptoms by accelerating disc degeneration, increasing inflammation, and limiting blood flow. Research also shows that smoking increases your risk of disc herniation and spinal instability associated with degeneration.
Quitting smoking won’t undue existing spine damage, but inflammation and blood flow quickly and dramatically improve. This means less pain and a lower risk of future damage.
Working with a qualified expert can take the guesswork out of protecting your spine. Our team can assess your spine health and detect or treat spinal stenosis before symptoms set in.
Depending on the specifics of your condition, spinal stenosis treatment may involve oral medication, epidural injections, physical therapy, or a decompression procedure.
To learn more about staving off spinal stenosis symptoms or access personalized treatment or advice, contact our Houston, Texas, office today to schedule an appointment.
