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Spinal Stenosis Updated 4/2011

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BASICS

  • Description
  • Epidemiology
  • Risk Factors
  • General Prevention
  • Pathophysiology
  • Etiology

DIAGNOSIS

  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Tests
  • Differential Diagnosis

TREATMENT

  • Medication (Drugs)
  • Additional Treatment
  • Surgery
  • In-patient Considerations

Ongoing Care

  • Follow-Up Recommendations
  • Diet
  • Patient Education
  • Prognosis
  • Complications
The following is an excerpt....
BASICS

Description

Spinal stenosis is a condition in which a narrowing of the spinal canal and foramen occurs. Spondylosis or degenerative arthritis is the most common etiology for spinal stenosis and results from compression of the spine by disk degeneration, facet arthropathy, osteophyte formation, and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. The L4–L5 level is involved most commonly, but other lumbar levels also can be affected.

Epidemiology

The prevalence of spinal stenosis increases with age because it is essentially an arthritic condition from “wear and tear” on the normal spine.

Incidence

The incidence of symptomatic spinal stenosis is as high as 8% of the general population.

Prevalence
  • The prevalence increases with age and can be very high when assessed by ...

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FIG. 108.1. Degenerative joint disease of the knee. Large areas of erosion of articular cartilage are present on the patellar facet and on the condyles of the femur. These erosions occupy principally the central portions of the joint surfaces and spare the marginal regions. The cartilage at the eroded edges is fi illated. The irregular elevations at the periphery of the surfaces are osteophytes.Credit: William J. Koopman, Larry W. Moreland, Arthritis and Allied Conditions A Textbook of Rheumatology, 15e. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005.
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