@thespinepod: If you've been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, you may have been told to hold off on spine surgery as long as you possibly can. Until the leg pain is unbearable. Until you can't even walk from the front door to the mailbox. Until you're barely sleeping at night because you can't find a comfortable position without constant pain. Dr. Jason Cuéllar, an orthopedic spine surgeon, explains where the advice came from. Thirty or forty years ago, the treatment options were do nothing or have a large fusion, and those fusions failed often enough that waiting was the reasonable call. Avoiding surgery made sense when surgery was often the harder path. The good news is that more treatment options exist now, including motion preserving procedures like disc replacement. Dr. Cuéllar still believes surgery should be a last resort. What's different today is that these options are worth considering earlier in the process, because the condition of your spine helps determine which treatments are available to you. Wait too long and some of them can come off the table. If you've been told to wait, it's worth asking what you're waiting for, and whether waiting could take away any treatment options for you. The answer may still be to hold off, but you'll just be deciding with the full picture. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. #spinalstenosis #spinesurgery #backpainrelief #neckpainrelief #legpain
thespinepod
Region: US
Saturday 03 October 2026 15:00:52 GMT
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Amy :
Disc replacements are only an option if you have enough space between the discs
2026-10-30 15:47:10
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sconner 123 :
my lumber spine shows degenerative changes predominantly at L4 L5 and L5 S1 levels at L4 L5 and L5 S1 levels at L4 L5 there is small left sided disc protrusion and ligamentous hypertrophy on the background of a congenitally narrow lumber spinal canal which causes impingement of the L5 nerve root I also have permanent foot drop and denovation atrophy nerve damage
2026-10-10 13:06:20
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Cotonxtremekennel :
Hi
I am posting this on behalf of my mum to see if anyone has any help or advice as she is in so much pain and she has just had enough,sorry it’s going to be a long post.So her pain is in her neck no mater what position she is in this was her latest mri results
FINDINGS
Mild anterolisthesis at C2/3.
Moderate anterolisthesis at C3/4.
Reversal of the cervical lordosis.
Vertebral heights are preserved.
No sinister marrow signal abnormality.
At C2/3, there is no significant foraminal stenosis.
At C3/4, there is severe bilateral foraminal stenosis.
At C4/5, there is severe bilateral foraminal stenosis.
At C5/6, there is moderate to severe right and severe left foraminal stenosis.
At C6-7, there is mild right and moderate to severe left foraminal stenosis. No canal stenosis at any level. No cord compression. No intrinsic cord signal abnormality in the cervical spine but there is a T2 hyperintense intramedullary level lesion at the level of T3..
CONCLUSION
Degenerative disc disease and facet joint arthropathy of the cervical spine with foraminal stenoses as described. No canal stenosis or cord compression.
Intramedullary lesion at the level of T3 noted.
Electronically signed
She also had XRay flexion-extension of the cervical spine was performed, which demonstrated instability with dynamic variation in alignment at the C3/4 level in the two positions.
Since 2019 she has been under pain clinic underwent greater occipital nerve block, thermogoagulation, nerve root and facet injection, CT guided nerve block and botox injection. None of these significantly affected her pain symptoms and I would be here all day naming all the muscle relaxers and anti inflammatory drugs and painkiller,morphine patches. Nothing has got her out of pain.She has also been to a Chiropractor and tried acupuncture and physio.The last appointment was with neuro surgeon and he said there is no operation he can do as there is no cord compression.She left so upset and just don’t know what else we can do
She also is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Danielle
2026-10-24 21:32:14
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