Medication may help ease pain, tingling, and weakness caused by spinal stenosis. Options available to manage it include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; both over-the-counter and prescription strength), antidepressants, and anti-seizure medications such as gabapentin or pregabalin.
Doctors may inject steroids directly into the space around a pinched nerve to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain. However, continued injection of steroids can weaken bones, tendons, and ligaments over time.
Baclofen
Baclofen is a muscle relaxant and antispastic medication commonly used to treat spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, or other spinal disorders. It works by blocking nerve signals in the brain and spine that cause muscles to contract, available as tablets or as intrathecal injections into the spinal cord (intrathecal baclofen). Epidural steroid injections for lower back pain caused by spinal nerve inflammation may also be used; discuss any possible side effects with your physician, such as confusion, slurred speech, trouble walking, instability, high fever, profuse sweating, or even tremors.
Various medications may help relieve the numbness, tingling, stabbing, or radiating pain associated with spinal stenosis, including acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen), and corticosteroids. Unfortunately, however, their efficacy may be reduced in elderly patients due to diminished liver and kidney function and coexisting medical conditions; additionally, acetaminophen should not be taken by those suffering from chronic liver disease as this increases their risk for fatal liver damage.
Nerve membrane stabilizers like gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) can help alleviate nerve pain from spinal stenosis by decreasing pain signals released by nerves and gradually increasing the dose until symptoms subside. People should not take them with liver or kidney issues as these medications increase the risk of drowsiness and fall; other muscle relaxants like Tizanidine (Zanaflex) or baclofen may be used instead to treat spinal stenosis.
Cyclobenzaprine
If your doctor diagnoses spinal stenosis, they’ll suggest treatments to alleviate muscle spasms, numbness, and tingling in your back or legs. Physical therapy, prescription, and over-the-counter medication, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which reduce pain and inflammation, or analgesics, such as Tylenol or tramadol, may help alleviate symptoms. You might also benefit from injections containing steroids and numbing agents to relieve nerve-pinching pain caused by nerve pinching.
Medication such as baclofen can provide some people with relief. However, its side effects include drowsiness, weakness, dizziness, and nausea. Cyclobenzaprine is another skeletal muscle relaxant available as an oral tablet or extended-release capsule. It works by targeting muscle hyperactivity within the brain to decrease it, often used alongside rest and physical therapy treatments for two-three weeks at a time for best results. Cyclobenzaprine may cause drowsiness; it’s best avoided until you know how the medication affects you before driving or operating machinery until you know its effects on you.
Spinal steroid injections may temporarily relieve pain, but repeated injections could weaken nearby bones, tendons, and ligaments if administered too frequently. Therefore, physicians typically only administer spinal steroid injections every one to two years for maximum effectiveness. If your symptoms of spinal stenosis continue, your physician may also suggest a nerve block with lidocaine to alleviate nerve pinching pain caused by spinal stenosis.
Your doctor may prescribe various medications to address spinal stenoses, such as antidepressants and benzodiazepines to ease anxiety and depression; opioids such as Oxycontin or hydrocodone (Hysingla ER), which can control severe pain but become habit-forming; or opioids like Oxycodone/hydrocodone. If other therapies don’t help, surgery such as lumbar laminectomy/spinal decompression could be an option; this procedure involves removing bone spurs while widening spaces between vertebrae in your spine to allow more effortless movement of vertebrae allowing more space between vertebrae to reduce pressure from each vertebra to allow more significant movement from each vertebrae allowing more space between each vertebrae allowing more significant movement between vertebrae allowing more space between vertebrae in your spine allowing more significant movement among them all and widening the space between vertebrae that causes pressure from spinal stenosis could become necessary – in which case surgery might become required – in which case surgery might involve removal of bone spurs removed through decompression procedures performed via laminectomy/decompression procedure that is widening space between vertebrae while increasing space between vertebrae.
Methocarbamol
Methocarbamol is a muscle relaxant used to manage spinal stenosis-related pain and spasticity. It works by blocking acetylcholine action in brain parts that control muscles. Methocarbamol may be taken with other drugs for more comprehensive pain relief; tablets and injection forms are available. Taking Methocarbamol with food may reduce stomach upset; follow instructions given by your physician regarding increasing or decreasing dosage as necessary. Taking missed doses immediately upon realization to avoid risky interactions between two tablets; taking two pills together may cause potentially hazardous interactions, which could worsen symptoms than expected.
According to the severity of your symptoms there are various treatment options for lumbar spinal stenosis, depending on their severity. This may include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen to alleviate pain and inflammation and decrease swelling in your spinal cord and nerves. Corticosteroid injections may also provide temporary relief; in more severe cases, your doctor might suggest foraminotomy surgery: this procedure expands portions of vertebrae where nerve roots enter to relieve pressure from nerve roots entering the spinal canal.
Alongside medications, there are other steps you should take to improve the health of your back and neck. Exercise regularly to strengthen back and core muscles. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces strain on your spine. In addition, smoking contributes to spinal stenosis; if symptoms such as pain in your lower back or neck area, numb arms, and legs, bladder control issues, or problems controlling bladder or bowel issues arise, contact your physician immediately for medical assistance.
Corticosteroids
Spinal stenosis occurs when the spinal cord becomes compressed by herniated discs or thickened joints, bones, and ligaments in the spine. Over time, it worsens, leading to pain in arms or legs when standing or walking and lessening when sitting down or leaning forward; sometimes, even sitting still helps alleviate symptoms or reduce them altogether. As you age, symptoms usually worsen – while some individuals are born with less space for their spinal cord in their back.
Over-the-counter and prescription medications may help alleviate symptoms associated with spinal stenosis, including pain relief. NSAIDs like Tylenol and ibuprofen can reduce inflammation; antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs may provide relief from numbness, tingling, or shooting pain in arms and legs caused by nerve compression; while nerve membrane stabilizers like Gabapentin or Lyrica can decrease discomfort by slowing the way nerves send pain signals to the brain.
If over-the-counter or prescription medication doesn’t offer enough relief, doctors may administer injections of corticosteroids directly into an area around a pinched spinal nerve. Corticosteroids help reduce inflammation and irritation and may provide temporary relief that lasts several days. Surgery options also include foraminotomy; in this procedure, a doctor expands part of vertebrae that covers spinal nerves; alternatively, an orthopedic surgeon can perform a lumbar laminectomy to create more space for nerves and the spinal cord. These procedures may help alleviate pain while improving function; however, they should only be employed if all other non-invasive therapies have failed.
Neuroleptics
Spinal stenosis is when the spinal canal narrows, placing pressure on both the spinal cord and nerves that lead to arms and legs, resulting in pain, numbness, or weakness in the legs, feet, or hands. Symptoms depend on where the stenosis has taken hold: those experiencing cervical spinal stenosis may experience neck or shoulder pain and loss of sensation in arms and fingers. In contrast, those experiencing lumbar spinal stenosis could experience backache, leg foot pain, and difficulty standing or walking – possibly losing bladder/bowel control altogether.
There are various treatments for spinal stenosis. Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly referred to as NSAIDs, may provide relief by decreasing inflammation and creating more space for nerves. If this method does not work as expected, more potent doses may be prescribed by your physician; alternatively, muscle relaxants or medications targeting specific symptoms could be recommended as well – these might include antiseizure medication gabapentin or tricyclic antidepressants like amitriptyline among many others.
Doctors can diagnose spinal stenosis by reviewing the patient’s medical history, conducting a physical exam, and testing strength, reflexes, and sensation in muscles, arms, and legs. A CT myelogram test may also be performed to assess the area surrounding the spine and to understand its nature better; this uses X-rays with dye injection that outlines the spinal cord and nerves to trace any problems in detail.
Treating spinal stenosis involves avoiding further damage through excessive activity and exercise, using proper body mechanics when lifting, pushing, or pulling objects, and pain management injections to alleviate symptoms of spinal stenosis.
