Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

The initial treatment for stenosis is to treat the symptoms rather than the condition itself. These treatments include:

• Medication such as aspirin or ibuprofen to relieve inflammation and pain
• Rest
• Physical therapy
• Posture changes such as lying with the knees drawn up to the chest or leaning forward while walking may relieve the pressure on the nerves
• Losing weight
• Epidural corticosteroid injections to reduce inflammation and relieve pain

If several months of treatment haven't improved the symptoms, and if the stenosis is severe, surgery to widen the spinal canal may be necessary. Because bone continues to deteriorate, additional treatment may be needed several years after even successful surgery. Operations used to treat stenosis include:

• Decompressive Laminectomy -- The roof of the vertebrae, called the lamina, is surgically removed. The procedure also may include removing part of the disc or fusing the vertebrae (spinal fusion).

• Foramenotomy -- The area where nerve roots leave the spinal canal, called the foramen, is removed.

• Laminoplasty -- The covering over the upper spine is elevated but not removed to allow decompression of the spinal cord and minimize the development of instability and deformity.

• Laminotomy -- Only a small portion of the lamina is removed.

• Medial Facetectomy -- Part of the spinal joints, called the facet, is partially removed to relieve pressure on the nerve roots passing underneath it.