Can spinal stenosis be treated without surgery?
Yes. In fact, less than 5% of patients with a spinal disorder ever require spine surgery. What types of non-surgical treatments are available? There are several non-surgical options your doctor may recommend to treat your spinal stenosis. Often, treatment combines more than one type of therapy. For example, medication may be combined with physical therapy. Let’s review a few of the non-surgical therapies one by one. • Medication: There is a wide variety of medications available to relieve inflammation, pain, and muscle spasm. Although some drugs are available over-the-counter (OTC), it is wise not to combine these with prescription drugs your doctor provides unless it is under his direction. Just like prescription medications, OTC drugs can cause serious side effects. • Injections: The most common type of injection used to help alleviate the symptoms of spinal stenosis is an epidural injection. This type of injection places medication (usually a steroid) into the space that surrounds s
