What is narrowing of disc space

Bone spurs also called osteophytes are overgrowths of bone that form along bone edges — usually around joints.

Bone spur development is an immune system response. When your body detects an area of damage or … Continued.

What Causes Narrowing of the Spine? Some of the most common degenerative conditions that lead to narrowing of the spine include: Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that leads to pain, swelling and inflammation in the spinal joints.

Wear and tear causes the protective cartilage to erode and the bones of the joint to rub against each other. The body tries to repair the damage by producing excess bone around the joints.

These bony overgrowths — called osteophytes or bone spurs — can grow into the spinal canal, narrowing the open spaces. Bone spurs might press against and pinch nerves or the spinal cord.

Degenerative disc disease. Spinal discs naturally degenerate with age. Wear, tear and daily stresses cause discs to dry out, weaken and flatten over time. Thinner, flatter discs tighten the space between vertebrae and put pressure on the nerves leaving the spine. Sometimes, discs begin to bulge out of place and protrude into the spinal canal, narrowing the open spaces and pressing against nerves.

With continued stress and pressure, a bulging disc might crack and leak disc material into the spinal canal, a condition known as a herniated disc. Disc material can irritate and compress nearby nerves in the spine. Ligament thickening. With age, the strong bands of ligaments that support the vertebrae become thicker and stiffer. Thickened ligaments might protrude or collapse into the spinal canal, narrowing the open spaces and pressing against nerves or the spinal cord.

How Is Narrowing of the Spine Treated? When you first experience pain, consult your family doctor. Your doctor will take a complete medical history to understand your symptoms, any prior injuries or conditions, and determine whether any lifestyle habits are causing the pain. Next a physical exam is performed to determine the source of the pain and test for any muscle weakness or numbness.

Your doctor may order one or more imaging studies: X-ray, MRI scan , discogram , myelogram , or CT scan to identify a herniated disc or other conditions that compress the nerve roots. Based on the results, you may be referred to a neurologist, orthopedist, or neurosurgeon for treatment.

If conservative therapies fail to help you manage and control the painful symptoms, your doctor may recommend surgery. Nonsurgical treatments Nonsurgical treatment for a degenerative disc may include medication, rest, physical therapy, home exercises, hydrotherapy, chiropractic, and pain management.

Self care. You may need to make adjustments to your daily standing, sitting, and sleeping habits. Your workspace may need to be rearranged to keep your spine from being under stress. Stress is a big obstacle to pain control.

Pain increases when you are tense and stressed. Relaxation exercises are one way of reclaiming control of your body. Deep breathing, visualization, and other relaxation techniques can help you to better manage the pain you live with see Pain Management. Physical therapy. The goal of physical therapy is to help you return to full activity as soon as possible.

Exercise is very helpful for a painful degenerative disc, and it can help you heal faster. Activity modification, rest, pain medication, muscle relaxants, and application of ice may be helpful in the acute stages. Spinal adjustment is a treatment that chiropractors use for patients with back or neck pain.

The chiropractor applies pressure to the area that is immobile or not moving properly. The philosophy behind chiropractic adjustment is to return the joints to more normal motion. Good motion helps reduce pain and muscle spasms. Motion also reduces the formation of scar tissue, which can lead to stiffness see Chiropractic Care. Your doctor may prescribe pain relievers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications NSAIDs , and steroids.

Sometimes muscle relaxers are prescribed for muscle spasms. Steroid injections. The procedure is done under x-ray guidance and involves an injection of corticosteroid and a numbing agent into the spine. The medicine is delivered right into the painful area to reduce the swelling and inflammation of the nerves.

Repeat injections may be given to achieve full effect. Duration of pain relief varies, lasting for weeks or years. See epidural steroid injections and facet injections. Holistic therapy. Surgical treatments Surgery is rarely recommended unless you have a proven disc herniation or instability and your symptoms have not significantly improved with nonsurgical therapy.

At each level of the spine, there is a disc space in the front and paired facet joints in the back. Working together, these structures define a motion segment and permit range of motion. The goal of surgery is to stop the painful movement of the motion segment, restore the height of the disc space, and decompress the spinal nerves. Frontera WR. Lumbar spinal stenosis. Cervical stenosis, myelopathy and radiculopathy. North American Spine Society. Levin K. Lumbar spinal stenosis: Treatment and prognosis.

Kim K, et al. Nonsurgical Korean integrative treatments for symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis: A three-armed randomized controlled pilot trial protocol. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dasenbrock HH, et al. The impact of provider volume on the outcomes after surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis.

Rochester, Minn. Minimally invasive lumbar decompression MILD. Abt NB, et al. Thirty day postoperative outcomes following anterior lumbar interbody fusion using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. Spinal stenosis.

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