Spinal stenosis is a condition in which patients suffer severe bilateral pain that shoots through the legs and radiates to the buttocks. Many patients use painkilling steroid injections to help deal with the discomfort. However, recent studies have found that these steroid injections make minimal difference to the intensity of the pain.
In fact, according to a study that was published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine the difference is actually clinically irrelevant. The Journal also raises questions about the advantages of using steroid injections to treat patients with central spinal stenosis. The Journal also recommends that patients who have had injections of steroids to treat the pain avoid having repeat injections if they do not find any benefit from the first injection.
The report also cautions doctors about prescribing these injections for patients who suffer from spinal stenosis. In fact according to the researchers, the injections could actually have side effects. Overall, the injections have been found to be safe, but in some cases, there may be complications that may be serious enough to cause death. In many other countries, governments are actually pulling out funding for spinal injections because it is considered a waste of money.
Spinal stenosis is a condition that is caused by the narrowing of the space around the spinal cord. This narrowing causes excessive pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots leading to symptoms that include severe pain in the legs and buttocks, weakness in the legs and numbness. Persons who suffer from this condition may find it difficult to stand for long periods of time, walk around, and ultimately go back to work.
If you suffer from severe pain as a result of spinal stenosis, speak with Atlanta Social Security disability attorney Lisa Siegel about claiming benefits.