Spinal Stenosis Online Support Group

I'm looking for advice for my dad who has been diagnosed with spinal stenosis and in a lot of pain. It is getting progressively worse and he sometimes screams in pain when walking. He says it's the soles of his feet. Mornings are very bad after sleeping, can take a few hours for the pain to lesson to some degree, but not completely.

He has seen a neurosurgeon and had a steriod epidural a few weeks back. It has made no difference. He is waiting for an apt to go back (NHS takes ages).

His GP won't change meds/refer for physical therapy - this all has to be done thro his consultant so he has to wait months in between each apt.

Is there anything he can do in the meantime? He was looking to see if there's any special shoes/insoles to perhaps provide more support in his feet. He has a lot of muscle wastage in his ankles. He is 65 and was a very active man, this is very hard on him.

When we go back to his consultant what treatment should be asking about/what's next for us to try to alleviate his pain?

Any help appreciated. He's getting very depressed with this. He has tried all the pain meds they've recommended (gabapentin, lyrica) but has experienced bad side effects and they haven't helped. Thanks!

Welcome to the stenosis support group.

The meds take quite a while to form a level in the system - so your dad probably stopped taking them too soon.

hat's next - your dad needs physical therapy - and it needs to include not only core strength training, but also pira forma , and mcKenzie training, plus also Mckenzie slide/glide training for stenosis.

As for small things that add up a lot to help relieve the pain -

okay - here are some helps - small pieces that add up:

1. Sleep on a memory foam topper. I use a 6 inch topper – it helps. Sleep on your back with the rubberish pillow under your knees to take all stress off of the lower back. Sleep with a feather pillow under your head and shoulders - to reduce cervical spine stresses too. If you sleep on your side – sleep with the rubber pillow between your knees to reduce stress on the lower back. Never sleep on your stomach – According to the chiropractic association that is a no no.

2. You can ice the lower back 2 or 3 times a day – 15 minutes on and 2 hours off. Should help reduce the pain.

3. You should try to get a shot of cortisone in the butt to help reduce the inflammation, That is called a depot shot of cortisone. This is true for most lumbar problems and maybe for some of the upper spine locations too. Limit cortisone injections to 4x per year. Get the shots of cortisone in the butt from a pain management doctor. DO NOT GET CORTISONE OR EPIDURALS MORE OFTEN THAN ONCE EVERY 3 MONHTS.....AND YOUR DAD SHOULD HOLD OFF ON SHOTS RIGHT NOW .

4. Epidural injections of cortisone are also helpful but much more complicated. These should wait til much later. PROBABLY GOT THAT SHOT TOO EARLY.

5. definitely get some sort of meds for pain for when it gets really bad – like right now for me. Get the pain meds from your family doctor. I PERSONALLY LIKE TYLENOL 3 OR VICODIN FOR BREAK THRU PAINS - - NOT TO BE CONTINUED FOR LONG TERM. NEED TO STRETCH TO ALLEVIATE THE PAINS. AND IN YOUR DAD'S CASE HE NEEDS TO SLIDE THE SCIATIC NERVE INTO THE CENTER OF THE SPINE .

6. Getting up and walking around definitely will reduce the pain levels, but the first 10 to 20 steps could be a little more painful than some other times.

7. Use a cane to help you walk. It will increase your range, and help prevent falls. A fall now will make matter much worse. GET A SCRIPT FORM DOCTOR SO THAT THE $20 WILL BE COVERED BY INSURANCE

8. Make sure to check all meds with your pharmacist to make sure you are safe. And check using a complete list of all meds and over the counter items when you check.

9. Sitting in a soft chair can feel good for a while but will put a lot of stress on the lower back. A desk chair, with a right angle between the back and the bottom is preferable.

10 Automobile travel is very bad for sciatica. It will definitely irritate your condition. If you must travel, stop the car and get out and walk for at least 15 minutes after every hour of travel in the car. That will help.

11. Stretches – the following stretches will help you a lot-

a. lower back

b. IT Band

c. Piraforma

d. Iliopsoas

e. core strength

If you ever want your back /spine problem to improve you need to do stretches. ABSOLUTELY

You can find good descriptions and videos, and pictures of the stretches on the internet by googling , for example –“ exercise lower back”.

12.A good physical therapy session is strongly recommended. They will help you to build up your core strength, and may even be able to help you to understand the nerve glide/slide stretches.. A MUST FOR BEGINNERS IN SCIATICA AND STENOSIS

There is still a lot o f discussion needed about specific stretches - esp for your core muscles.

Clarification - do not ice your legs - not the knees, not the hips, not the feet, not the calfs. The pain is coming from the lower back - it is reflected pain. The ice needs to go on the lower back, the lumbar spine and the butt .

And it is important to stretch the hamstrings !!!!! You must stretch them or everything will get much worse. Google hamstring stretches.

do not exercise when you are in pain. But do exercise when you are not in pain. Of course that will have to wait til you are feeling better – right now you do need to stretch. Yes it will hurt a little at first. IF YOU ARE IN PAIN TAKE SOME PAIN MEDICINE. aND ICE , AND STRETCH AND SLIDE/GLIDE - AND THEN WHEN THE PAIN DROPS DO EXERCISES.

T piraforma stretch and the ham string stretch are the most important initially . Do them much more than the other stretches.

And you can get some really great other stretches on the net - google for example (piraforma stretch video) or (hamstring stretch video).

NEED TO JOIN A REGULAR GYM LOCALLY - AND NEED TO GO THERE FOR CARDIO INITIALLY - IT WILL BE DIFFICULT AT FIRST, BUT IS NEEDED. REMEMBER NO EXERCISES WHEN IN PAIN.SEE ABOVE.

Hope these help a little.

Big Hugs, Raoul

COME BACK AFTER YOU AND YOUR DAD ABSORB THESE THOUGHTS AND WE CAN TALK MORE - THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO BE LEARNED AND DONE.

WE CAN STOP THE PAIN !!!!!!!