Close up on spinal stenosis

 

A person can be born with spinal stenosis or develop this condition; it can be very common in the elderly population as we age.  As we grow old, ligaments hypertrophy the discs bulge and we create a stenotic or narrowed spinal canal and this can cause pain as well as weakness in the leg when you walk. The person becomes weak, so they bend over, which opens up spinal canal.  Another alternative is to sit down and that relieves the pain. Occasionally, patients can go to surgery to open up the spinal canal, but there are some nonoperative options.  Spinal stenosis is a mechanical compression.