Spinal stenosis: what, when and why it appears

What is spinal canal stenosis?

Spinal Canal Stenosis is a condition that causes a narrowing of the bony canal and vertebral disc, area through which the spinal cord passes both cervical and lumbar.

According to experts in traumatology , stenosis can produce spinal injury with consequent deficit transmission and loss of sensitivity and strength in the upper and lower limbs.

What age group is most common their appearance?

Some people are born with a fairly narrow spinal canal, however, the most common is that this stenosis develops over the years, especially after 50 years.

As already said, this process usually appears after 55 or 60 years and progresses more and more until almost completely closed the neural tube.

Causes and development of spinal stenosis

The causes are generally osteoarthritis all vertebral elements both small posterior joints and intervertebral discs. In developing osteoarthritis osteophytes that occur (commonly called "parrot beaks"), also increased the size of the elements and joint capsules. Simultaneously, dehydration of the intervertebral disc is created with its crush protrusion and the medullary canal.

All these phenomena that will produce a deformity in the alignment of the spine (lower back) and the so-called scoliosis originates Degenerative. This scoliosis may occur in some cases, but can also arise spondylolisthesis, ie forward slippage of one vertebra relative to other. In both cases a greater narrowing of the spinal canal, trapping the cord and / or nerves that come from the same still occurs.

The more or less coincidental timing of all these phenomena that develop gradually causes the spinal canal is increasingly close. Especially foramina, which are the holes where they go outside the nerves that come from the bone, thus forming the spinal canal stenosis or degenerative Acquired narrow.