Cervical spinal stenosis, do I need surgery?

Patients with cervical spinal stenosis need to pay attention to the following:

First, in daily life and work, we should pay attention to avoid bowing our heads for a long time, such as working at the desk for a long time or bowing our heads to play with mobile phones and computers, which can effectively reduce lumbar disc herniation and lumbar degeneration, and avoid further accelerating the progression of cervical spinal stenosis.

Second, avoid cervical spine injury. Because a one-time cervical spine is injured by a large external force, it can lead to acute spinal cord compression, and the symptoms of quadriplegia appear, especially when driving to avoid neck whiplash injury, to avoid falling during ordinary walking, these actions can lead to acute neck injury.

3. Actively address the symptoms**. Symptomatic** can effectively improve the symptoms of cervical spinal stenosis and reduce the pain of patients.

The cervical spine is very important for everyone, but some people have cervical spinal stenosis, so what is the best cervical spinal stenosis?

Cervical spinal stenosis can be performed with the following methods: for patients with mild cervical spinal stenosis, conservative methods are usually used, including microwave, cervical immobilization, and drugs, methylprednisolone and glycerin fructose injection, etc., which can relieve pain and reduce nerve edema. Patients with cervical spinal stenosis who have rapidly developing spinal cord damage are usually surgical**, including anterior, posterior, and anterolateral surgery, to relieve nerve compression and relieve neuraxial pressure.

Note that if there are neurological symptoms of cervical spinal cord compression, surgery is usually required**. The specific surgical method depends on the specific cause of stenosis, and the bony stenosis is structurally abnormal, such as developmental spinal stenosis, which may enlarge the spinal canal; If a herniated disc is caused, the herniated disc should be removed from the anterior route. After the above treatments, spinal reconstruction is performed.

Whether lumbar spinal stenosis requires surgery depends on the individual's situation, clinical symptoms, and severity of the condition. Mild lumbar spinal stenosis can be treated with bed rest, lumbar traction, local non-surgical procedures such as physical**, massage, and medications**. Surgery is required if non-surgical ** is ineffective or if symptoms are severe.

What tests are needed to make the diagnosis.

X-ray: Measurement of the transverse diameter of the spinal canal (the distance between the inner edges of the pedicles on both sides) and the sagittal diameter of the spinal canal (the distance from the posterior edge of the vertebral body to the junction of the lamina and spinous process) in lateral radiographs are considered to be less than 18 mm in transverse diameter and less than 13 mm in sagittal diameter, suggesting the presence of spinal stenosis.

Myelography: shows typical"Images of bee waist-like" defects, root cuff compression, and staged stenosis.

CT examination: CT is an excellent examination method for the diagnosis of lumbar spondylosis, and the results obtained by CT scan are highly consistent with clinical practice. The cross-sectional area of the lumbar spinal canal in normal people is 180 square millimeters, and less than 100 square millimeters is ** type lumbar spinal stenosis.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): MRI of the lumbar spine can clearly show epistemal and epidural sac lipids. fat, dural sac, cerebrospinal fluid, spinal cord and other structures.

It has a higher resolution for soft tissue imaging than CT, and is capable of imaging in a sagittal position in addition to cross-sectional scanning. However, MRI** is relatively expensive, and the ability to identify ossification and annulus calcification of the ligamentum flavum is poor.

Note: It is generally accepted that the natural progression of lumbar spinal stenosis tends to be poor, and three months of moisturizing** is fruitless, and surgery should be performed as soon as possible.