How Does Physical Therapy Help Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a common condition, affecting about 11% of older adults in the United States. For one in five of those adults, it causes bothersome symptoms.

If you’re among those suffering due to spinal stenosis, physical therapy (PT) can go a long way in terms of managing your symptoms.

Dr. Nicholas Perenich and his team at Spine Institute of Florida in Dade City and Spring Hill offer conservative and surgical treatments for spinal stenosis to help you lead a full and comfortable life.

Take a few moments to learn more about spinal stenosis, including the benefits physical therapy has in store.

Spinal stenosis basics

When you have spinal stenosis, the space within your backbone is too small. This puts pressure on your spinal cord and nerves that move through it. While the narrowing can happen anywhere in your spine, the lower back and neck are the most common. 

When spinal stenosis causes symptoms, they often include:

• Numbness or tingling in an extremity
• Leg pain or cramping when you stand for a while or walk
• Leg pain that improves when you bend forward
• Back pain or neck pain
• Bladder or bowel problems
• Poor balance or coordination

It’s possible to be born with spinal stenosis, but most people develop it later in life — often due to bone spurs, disc herniation, or a spinal injury.

How PT helps spinal stenosis

Physical therapy helps spinal stenosis by strengthening your back, leg, and neck muscles, increasing your range of motion and improving your flexibility. PT can also improve your spinal alignment, relieve nerve compression, and reduce joint stiffness. All of these benefits mean less pain and a better ability to exercise, which supports your spine health moving forward. 

Physical therapy may even reduce spinal stenosis back pain as effectively as spinal surgery, without the risks or downtime of an invasive procedure. To glean the most benefits, you may need routine PT for up to several months.

During your PT sessions, your provider will manually perform special exercises and stretches and guide you through exercises to do at home. Following your aftercare program is key for success, too.

Other spinal stenosis treatments

Our team may recommend PT as your primary treatment or as part of a comprehensive plan. Other therapies we may recommend include:

• Chiropractic care
• Epidural injections
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Therapeutic cervical traction

If conservative treatments don’t suffice or you have severe symptoms, you may be a candidate for spine surgery.

To learn more about PT for spinal stenosis to get started with the care you need, call Spine Institute of Florida or schedule an appointment through our website today.