Chiropractic Treatment And Cervical Central Stenosis

Chiropractic Treatment And Cervical Central Stenosis

Central stenosis, also called Spinal stenosis, can be caused by wear and tear of the spine also called osteoarthritis or spondylosis. 

It can occur if bony spurs form from the vertebra and narrow the spinal canal, but there can be other reasons. It can put pressure on the spinal cord, called myelopathy. If you have spinal cord compression in the neck it is often associated with leg symptoms, such as pain, stiffness and unsteadiness, and sometimes bowel and bladder problems. 

Central stenosis can affect any level of the spine but the neck and lower back are most common.

Symptoms Of Cervical Central Stenosis

The symptoms can be vague to start with but can worsen over time.

The chiropractors in our clinics are trained to do a neurological examination on all their patients. This includes tests for central stenosis.

Typical symptoms that would give the chiropractor a suspicion that there might be central stenosis in the neck, or risk of it, include:

• Nerve symptoms in both arms such as pain, tingling, pins and needles numbness or weakness, symptoms seen in lateral stenosis, but affecting both arms.
  

• Leg symptoms such as pain, tingling, pins and needles numbness or weakness. Especially, if the back examination is normal. (But you can, of course, have a lower back problem causing those symptoms at the same time.)

• Other leg symptoms such as stiffness, the legs feeling ‘rigid’ and ‘wooden’ and having problems keeping your balance, problems walking and a tendency to walk with a wider stance.

• Problems controlling your bowel and bladder.

Causes Of Cervical Central Stenosis

The most common reasons are degenerative changes, wear and tear, of the spine. Where spurs form from the joints and vertebral bodies and start to encroach the central canal. 

Another common cause can be caused by disc injuries, such as acute, sudden disc herniations, or longstanding degenerative disc injuries.

Trauma, leading to fractures, dislocations and bleeds can cause central stenosis.

You can also be born with a more narrow central canal and be at more risk of having stenosis for that reason, congenital stenosis.

It can be caused by other things such as cysts and tumour, but thankfully they are rare. 

All of this highlights the importance to have a thorough examination to accurately diagnose it.

How Can Chiropractic Treatment Help Cervical Central Stenosis

Cervical Central Stenosis is potentially a very serious condition and if severe can cause significant nerve symptoms, which can become permanent if the problem is not dealt with quickly. You might require surgery.

That is why we would most likely refer you for MRI imaging to establish the severity and cause of the compression.

But if the compression and symptoms are mild, surgery is usually not the first port of call, conservative management such as chiropractic treatment is then a good option. 

We adapt our treatment methods to suit your condition. We have several patients that we have co-managed over the years together with the GP and Orthopaedic- or Neurosurgeon.

Those patients have been given help and support with their pain.

If you have any questions, please contact Isis Chiropractic Centres here.

You can book an assessment to help get a diagnosis and find out if chiropractic treatment can help you here.