Spinal stenosis happens when the space inside your spine, which holds your spinal cord, becomes narrower. With less space, your spinal cord and the exiting nerves are more easily compressed or pinched.

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of spinal stenosis, but there are a few other conditions and injuries that can make your spinal column narrower. During your evaluation at The Neck and Back Institute of Florida, Dr. Creek can diagnose:

• Spinal injuries

• Disc herniation

• Thickened ligaments

• Spinal cord cysts

• Spinal cord tumors

• Scoliosis

Some people have naturally smaller spinal canals and have spinal stenosis from birth. Dr. Creek helps you explore treatment options that can relieve your symptoms with any type of spinal stenosis.

The symptoms of spinal stenosis depend on the area or areas where the narrow canal is compressing nerves. You may have many symptoms or just a few, and they can come and go.

You should schedule an appointment for a spinal stenosis evaluation at The Neck and Back Institute of Florida if you notice regular:

• Pain in the limbs

• Numbness or tingling in the limbs

• Weakness in the limbs

• Leg cramping

• Balance problems

• Loss of hand function

• Neck pain

• Low back pain

• Bladder dysfunction (severe cases only)

• Bowel dysfunction (severe cases only)

Your pain and other symptoms from spinal stenosis might get worse when you stand for a long time, walk, or lean forward. While describing your symptoms to Dr. Creek, it helps to be as specific as possible. He may use imaging tests like X-rays or MRI scans to find the specific areas and plan treatment.

Typically, noninvasive treatments for spinal stenosis symptoms like physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, and spinal injections are effective. If you don’t experience any significant or lasting relief from these options, Dr. Creek can perform minimally invasive spinal surgery to treat the underlying condition. He specializes in:

• Minimally invasive laminotomy

  • Minimally invasive laminotomy is a surgery to create a hole in the back of the vertebrae to ease pressure on your spinal nerves.

• Laminoplasty

  • Laminoplasty only works for spinal stenosis in the cervical spine, which is the portion in your neck. Dr. Creek creates more room in the spinal canal by creating a hinge in the back of the vertebrae and using metal hardware to close the gap.

• Ultrasonic decompression

  • During ultrasonic decompression, Dr. Creek uses a rapidly oscillating blade to remove some of the bone compressing your spinal cord. The rapidly moving instrument allows for quick, precise, and easy cuts.