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Spinal stenosis may be congenital (rarely) or acquired (degenerative), overlapping changes normally seen in the aging spine. [6] [7] Stenosis can occur as either central stenosis (the narrowing of the entire canal) or foraminal stenosis (the narrowing of the foramen through which the nerve root exits the spinal canal). Severe narrowing of the ...
Spinal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal or neural foramen that results in pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. [6] Symptoms may include pain, numbness, or weakness in the arms or legs. [1] Symptoms are typically gradual in onset and improve with leaning forward. [1]
NC should therefore be distinguished from vascular claudication, which stems from a circulatory problem rather than a neural one. The term neurogenic claudication is sometimes used interchangeably with spinal stenosis. However, the former is a clinical term, while the latter more specifically describes the condition of spinal narrowing. [4]
When a single spinal nerve root is compressed, the resulting clinical outcome is termed radiculopathy, and is usually labeled according to the specific nerve root compressed (hence compression of the nerve root exiting the spinal column below the left-sided pedicle of the L5 vertebra will be diagnosed as "left L5 radiculopathy").
CT scan of a man presenting with radiculopathy of the left cervical spinal nerve 7. It shows spondylosis with osteophytes between the vertebral bodies C6 and C7 on the left side, causing foraminal stenosis at this level (lower arrow, also showing axial plane), explaining the symptoms.
There is also spondylosis of the facet joint between C2 and C3, with some foraminal stenosis at this level (upper arrow), which appears to be asymptomatic. Signs and Symptoms. Radiculopathy is a diagnosis commonly made by physicians in primary care specialties, orthopedics, physiatry, and neurology.
Pathological processes that can occur in these joints include degenerative changes or hypertrophic arthritis, resulting in foraminal stenosis and nerve compression. Foraminal stenosis at this joint is the most common cause of cervical nerve root pressure. They were characterized by Hubert von Luschka in 1858. [4] [5]
The intervertebral foramen (also neural foramen) (often abbreviated as IV foramen or IVF) is an opening between (the intervertebral notches of [1]) two pedicles (one above and one below) of adjacent vertebra in the articulated spine.