What is Spinal Stenosis?
Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the open spaces within your spine, which can put pressure on your spinal cord and the nerves that travel through the spine. Spinal stenosis occurs most often in the neck and lower back.
While some people have no signs or symptoms, spinal stenosis can cause pain, numbness, muscle weakness, and problems with bladder or bowel function.
Spinal stenosis is most commonly caused by wear-and-tear changes in the spine related to aging. This may lead to back pain, numbness, tingling and/or weakness of the legs.
What Is Foraminal Stenosis?
Foraminal stenosis is a condition in which the foramina get narrow. The foramina are the passages on each side of the vertebrae through which the spinal nerve roots pass.
When the spine is healthy, there’s sufficient space for the nerve roots to pass and then move out to various body parts. But foraminal stenosis reduces this space, making it very narrow and placing pressure on the nerves. This will leads to similar symptoms of spinal stenosis.