You once enjoyed getting out and about, whether it was strolling through the neighborhood or going to your local grocery store to do the shopping. Thanks to lumbar spinal stenosis, these activities, and so many more, are limited by the pain that accompanies even the smallest effort at moving around.
If you want to get back to your life, without pain, Dr. Anjum Bux and our team here at Bux Pain Management offer an innovative procedure that can relieve the pressure on the nerves in your lower back. Called Vertiflex™, here’s a look at when you might consider this incredibly effective treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis.
How lumbar spinal stenosis affects your mobility
At its core, lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a narrowing of the spinal canal in your lower back. As the canal narrows, sensitive nerve roots in the area can become compressed, which can lead to localized pain, as well as symptoms that travel down the length of the nerve into your buttocks and into one or both of your legs.
LSS is rarely caused by an acute trauma and generally develops as a result of degenerative changes in the five vertebrae that make up your lumbar spine. This is why most cases of symptomatic LSS occur in people over the age of 60.
While pain is the primary complaint, other symptoms can develop, such as numbness and tingling.
How Vertiflex can relieve the pain
With the innovative Vertiflex procedure, which we perform on an outpatient basis, Dr. Bux inserts a small spacer in between your vertebrae that features small arms to keep it in position. This device opens up the area between your vertebrae, creating more space in your spinal canal and relieving the pressure on your nerves.
Not only can Vertiflex relieve the pain, it still allows full mobility in your lower back, as the device moves with your spine while keeping the appropriate amount of space between your vertebrae.
Is Vertiflex right for you?
While it’s not our place to decide which treatment option is right for you, we can say that we’ve helped many of our patients to successfully regain their quality of life with the minimally invasive Vertiflex procedure.
Most patients opt for the Vertiflex procedure when walking becomes difficult thanks to the discomfort that develops in their lower back, buttocks, and legs. Often, this discomfort can be relieved when you sit down or bend forward, releasing the pressure on your nerves when you’re upright.
For example, if you’re in the grocery store doing your shopping and pain crops up, you bend forward and lean on your shopping cart, which helps to relieve the symptoms. While you may find some temporary reprieve from your pain in doing this, you’re hardly able to continue your shopping in this position.
In other words, any time your life is limited by pain, and even the simple act of walking becomes difficult, it may be a very good idea to seek treatment.
If you want to explore further whether Vertiflex is right for you, we invite you to contact one of our locations in Lexington, Cynthiana, or Danville, Kentucky, to set up an appointment.