Review

SPINAL STENOSIS AND PHYSICAL THERAPY APPROACH

  • Saime Ay
  • Deniz EVCİK

J Turk Spinal Surg 2007;18(2):57-66

Spinal stenosis is a clinical syndrom of the stenosis of intervertebral foramina or nevre root canal. The decrease in the diameter of the fora-mina leads an obstruction over the neuronal or vascular structures and causes clinical symptom. The clinical findings change due to the obstruction of neurovascular level.

Soft tissue, bone or both of them may be the reason of stenosis. Spinal stenosis has close relation with aging and degenerative joint disor-ders. Vertebral canal has two components and these are lateral and central canals. Central canal stenosis leads lumbar and leg pain whereas lateral canal stenosis mostly causes leg pain. Treatment of spinal stenosis consists of both conservative therapy and surgery.

The aim of the treatment is early pain control, to protect chronicity, disability and to provide re-turning to working as early as possible. The tre-atment of spinal stenosis includes hot pack, massage, electrotherapy modalities and exerci-se programs.

Keywords: Spinal stenosis, physical the-rapy