At the UK HealthCare Comprehensive Spine Center, our experts work together to create the treatment plan that best fits your specific needs.
Most patients can manage spinal stenosis with non-surgical treatment. You may benefit from a combination of treatments.
Ice packs can reduce swelling and pain in the first days after sciatic nerve pain begins. Apply ice to the affected area several times a day for up to 20 minutes. Place a cloth between the ice pack and your skin to avoid cold-related injuries.
After a few days of using cold therapy to reduce swelling, switching to a heating pad or heat wrap may be helpful. Apply heat to the affected area several times a day for up to 20 minutes. Switching back and forth between applying ice and heat may be helpful.
Back bracing and cervical collars support and stabilize the torso or neck while limiting motion for the spine, muscles and ligaments. Cervical collars are used to stabilize spinal fractures or after surgery, as you are recovering.
Some back braces can be made from breathable elastic or neoprene material that wraps around your torso for targeted support. An adjustable fabric fastener lets you customize the fit for optimal comfort and compression. Other braces, particularly those used for fractures, are rigid and made of hard plastic or metal. These braces minimize spine movement to allow bones to heal. A rigid brace can reduce the risk of nerve damage.
Hard collars are usually made from plexiglass or plastic. They restrict head rotation and side-to-side movement more than softer collars. They often have a chin support to allow the muscles in your neck to relax.
These common, over-the-counter medicines target chemicals responsible for pain, inflammation and fever, reducing their production to ease these symptoms.
Occupational therapy may be recommended alongside physical therapy. This therapy focuses on helping patients perform routine daily activities, such as driving, working, bathing and cooking. At UK HealthCare, our occupational therapists work with you to understand your unique needs. They will put together a personalized therapy program to help you adapt to your environment and more easily perform your regular activities.
Physical therapy plays a crucial role in effectively managing chronic back pain. At UK HealthCare, physical therapy is an integral part of many spine treatment plans. Our spine specialists work with therapy experts who specialize in musculoskeletal care. Together, they create a plan tailored for your unique needs.
A physical therapist can:
- Create a personalized exercise plan to enhance your flexibility and range of motion
- Strengthen your core muscles to maintain proper alignment
- Improve your posture
- Educate you on correct movement techniques and modifications to use during pain episodes, helping you to engage in your favorite activities while reducing the likelihood of recurring back pain
If conservative treatments haven’t helped your pain, a targeted injection might offer short-term relief. This injection includes a steroid to reduce swelling around the nerves and a numbing medicine to ease pain right away. While a steroid injection is effective, it's important to note that the pain relief typically lasts for one to two months.
At UK HealthCare, interventional pain management is an integral part of many spine treatment plans. Our spine specialists work with pain management experts specializing in musculoskeletal care to create a plan tailored for each patient's needs.
Some people with severe spinal stenosis may find surgery is the best option to restore quality of life. Many surgery options are minimally invasive. The most common procedures used to treat spinal stenosis are laminectomy and spinal fusion.
During this procedure, your surgical team will remove damaged lamina — part of a vertebra in your spine.
Before your laminectomy, you will get general anesthesia so you will sleep during the procedure. Your surgeon will make an incision in your neck or back and move the ligaments, muscles and tissues to the side to access the lamina bones. During the procedure, your surgeon may remove:
- All or part of the lamina bones on each side of your spine
- The sharp part of your spine (the spinous process)
- Bone spurs
- Disk fragments
- Other soft tissues
In some cases, spinal fusion may be performed at the same time. The surgery usually takes one to three hours.
After your anesthesia wears off, your surgeon will encourage you to take short walks with help (if you didn’t have spinal fusion). You may remain in the hospital for a few days.
After surgery, many patients will experience either some or complete symptom relief, and you should be able to resume light activity after about four weeks.
This surgery is performed to stop movement between two or more vertebrae in the spine.
Before your spinal fusion, you will receive general anesthesia so that you sleep during the procedure. To perform this surgery, your surgeon may access your spine in one of three ways:
- On your back or neck above the spine: You will lie on your stomach, and your surgeon will make an incision over the area and move the muscles and tissues to the side to access the spine.
- On your side: If spinal fusion is being performed on your lower back, you may lie on your side to give the surgeon the best angle to access the spine in that area.
- On the front of the neck: If spinal fusion is on the neck, your surgeon may make an incision on the front part of your neck near the side.
The vertebrae will be fused together with:
- Bone graft placed along the back of the spine
- Bone graft material added between two or more vertebrae
- Implantable cages used between the vertebrae
The doctor may also stabilize the vertebrae with cages, plates, rods or screws until the grafts heal. The surgery usually takes three to four hours.
After your surgery, you will remain in the hospital for three or four days, and you will receive pain medicine to keep you comfortable. You may wear a back brace when you leave the hospital.
After surgery, you will need to stay off work for about four to six weeks as you recover, and you will be limited to very light activity. You may need physical therapy.
If you have tried other pain relief treatments and your spinal pain hasn’t improved, spinal fusion may work as a pain relief option. However, spinal fusion doesn’t provide pain relief for everyone, and it can increase pain.