Symptomatology
There are various signs and symptoms of spinal stenosis. A common one is referred to as spinal claudication. This refers to pain in the legs, the calves or the buttocks. This pain is associated with activity. The pain is often relieved by sitting and resting. It will then often times start up again with activity. A common complaint is that an individual will be able to walk several blocks then develops leg pain, is able to get rid of the leg pain by sitting and resting for five to ten minutes and then, upon trying to walk another several blocks the pain will return. The pain may be a radiating pain like a sciatica or it may be a cramping pain. At times though, the stenosis may be severe enough that the leg pain is constant and unremitting. It may at times be indistinguishable from the kind of pain that occurs with a herniated disc. Spinal stenosis is uncommon in younger people. It usually occurs at age 50 or older. Leg pains from spinal pathology are more common from herniated discs in people under 50. Over 50 it is more common that spinal stenosis will be the problem. In addition to developmental degenerative spinal stenosis, entrapped nerve roots may be caused as well by spondylolisthesis and scotiosis. There is really no conservative treatment for a spinal stenosis. It will rarely cause paralysis. The condition will tend to gradually worsen with time and cause increasing pain however. Patients with congenital spinal stenosis (such as achondroplastic dwarfs) may develop symptomatic stenosis as early as age 15 or 20.