Lumbar stenosis
| Lumbar spinal stenosis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Lumbar vertebra showing central stenosis and lateral recess stenosis. | |
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | Orthopedics |
| ICD-10 | M48.0 |
| ICD-9-CM | 723.0-724.0 |
| DiseasesDB | 31116 |
| MeSH | D013130 |
Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a medical condition in which the spinal canal narrows and compresses the spinal cord and nerves at the level of the lumbar vertebrae. This is usually due to the common occurrence of spinal degeneration that occurs with aging. It can also sometimes be caused by spinal disc herniation, osteoporosis, a tumor, or trauma. In the cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) region it can be a congenital condition to varying degrees.
It is also a common symptom for those who suffer from various skeletal dysplasias such as with pseudoachondroplasia and achondroplasia at an early age.
Spinal stenosis may affect the cervical or thoracic region in which case it is known as cervical spinal stenosis or thoracic spinal stenosis. In some cases, it may be present in all three places in the same patient. Lumbar spinal stenosis can cause low back pain, abnormal sensations, and the absence of sensation (numbness) in the legs, thighs, feet or buttocks, or loss of bladder and bowel control.
Understanding the meaning of signs and symptoms for the clinical syndrome of lumbar stenosis requires an understanding of what the syndrome is, and the prevalence of the condition. A recent review on lumbar stenosis in the Journal of the American Medical Association's "Rational Clinical Examination Series" emphasized that the syndrome can be considered when lower extremity pain occurs in combination with back pain. This syndrome occurs in 12% of older community dwelling men and up to 21% of those in retirement communities.
The leg symptoms in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) are similar to those found with vascular claudication, giving rise to the term pseudoclaudication. These symptoms include pain, weakness, and tingling of the legs, which may radiate down the leg to the feet. Additional symptoms in the legs may be fatigue, heaviness, weakness, a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness and leg cramps, as well as bladder symptoms. Symptoms are most commonly bilateral and symmetrical, but they may be unilateral; leg pain is usually more troubling than back pain.
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