by Lee Sung-hun
Spinal stenosis is one of the more common spinal illness and according to the National Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients is on the increase.
There were 1.311 million patients treated for spinal stenosis in 2014 compared to 830,000 in 2010, showing a 58 percent increase in just four years. Ninety-four percent of such patients were in or past their 50s and female patients outnumbered males by almost 2 to 1.
Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the open space called the “intervertebral foramen” through which nerves travel, leading to pain and various other complex symptoms.
It occurs more commonly in the lower back, and thus when most patients are diagnosed with spinal stenosis, they are referring to lumbar spinal stenosis.
Common symptoms include back pain along with tingling and numbness in the legs, and coldness and shooting pains in the feet.
Characteristically, patients don’t necessarily feel pain while resting, but when walking, they feel radiating pain or numbness.
Due to the pain, they walk short distances in burst and have to take frequent rests.
As spinal stenosis occurs with pain in the lower back and the legs, many patients mistakenly believe that they have a herniated lumbar disc.
However, the two illnesses have different in symptoms.
Unlike a herniated lumbar disc, patients with spinal stenosis feel their pain alleviated when leaning forward and aggravated when they straighten their back.
This is because the pressure on the nerves is relieved when leaning forward.
Also, herniated lumbar discs are more common among younger people, typically between 20 and 40. The associated pain becomes worse when they lean forward, or when sitting down rather than standing up.
The pain can be aggravated when sneezing or with bowel movements.
As non-surgical preservation treatment, Oriental treatment courses incorporate the adjustment of posture to relieve the pressure on the spine, and alleviating the inflammation of the nerves within the affected spinal canal.
Bad posture and poor habits can lead to excessive tension in the muscles and tendons surrounding the lower back, which in turn can cause more pressure on the spine, resulting in its accelerated degeneration.
Chuna-chiropractic treatment can adjust and properly align the affected spine, and acupuncture and cupping treatments can relieve the tension in the back and pelvic areas.
These treatments directly address backaches while reducing the pressure on the spine at the same time.
Bee venom acupuncture is known to be an effective anti-inflammatory treatment.
It can alleviate the inflammation of the nerves caused by the pressure and strengthen the surrounding tendons.
For such reasons, bee venom acupuncture is used for treating spinal stenosis as well as various other illnesses such as herniated discs and arthritis.
As stenosis can occur due to the degenerative nature of the spine, preventive efforts in everyday life do matter.
First of all, regular exercise to strengthen the back muscles is important as we age.
Abdominal muscles should not be ignored as they support the spine from the front in conjunction with the back muscles.
Maintaining the same posture for extended periods of time is not healthy.
If work involves sitting in front of a computer all day long, standing up and lightly stretching the body every 30 minutes or so is helpful.
Compared to standing up or lying down, sitting requires more load on the spine.
As such, sitting for long periods of time should be avoided and proper posture is essential.
Unfortunately, degenerative changes cannot be avoided as we age.
However, slowing them down can be achieved with effort and mindfulness of our own well-being.