Lumber spinal stenosis

jenmac

Hi just wandering if the pain in arms and shoulders has anything to do with my lumber stenosis..….....my physio theripist says its nothing to do with that and hes gave me exercises to do for 6wks then i go back to see him end of jan. Can anyone tell me if its connected

Thanks

jenmac

I was fiagnosed with lumber spinal stenosid ladt year after an MRI

jenmac

Hi everyone i was diagnosed with lumber spinal stenosis last dec after an MRI........any advise would be much appreciated

TiA

jenmac

Thank you for your comment. My right hanf sometimes has bad temors so is that yo do with it also…….my gp says its not.

Meredithshep

Lumbar tends to produce symptoms in the lower limbs as it affects the nerves there, cervical produces symptoms in the arms and shoulders and can cause headaches. Depends really on where the stenosis is and which nerves are affected. I would agree with your doctor. I've had several lumbar spine surgeries and it affects my legs, buttocks, feet and toes. I also have nerve damage from the first surgery also affects my bladder.

Holly_Scope

Hi @jenmac and welcome to the online community!

I noticed that there were 3 discussions created for the same thing so I've merged them all in to the one. Not sure what happened, it might have been a system error but all sorted now. 😊

I hope you enjoy your time on the forum and have the opportunity to have a little look around the categories. There's "coffee break" which is a great place to have a nice chat with other members of the community. Also, (my personal favourite) the "games den".

All the best,

Holly.

SarahT41

If they are saying its not connected to the lumbar spinal stenosis, they still need to find out what is causing it, so you can understand where it is coming from. Do you know if the MRI looked at your cervical spine too or was it just lumbar? I really know how it feels having symptoms that don't quite fit based on the diagnosis that you have been given, but once they find one thing they're reluctant to go looking for anything else. If you don't already have it, I would request the full MRI report - mine had details that the consultant didn't think relevant to include in the discharge letter, but it was significant to me in understanding what was the source of my symptoms. He was a surgeon, so was very much of the opinion if it can't be fixed with surgery she doesn't need to know about it. Bur of course, even if nothing can be done, it helped me mentally to make sense of what was happening in my body. Also its worth saying, an MRI is good for diagnosing big structural abnormalities, trauma, etc. But nerves are a bit more complex. When you have an MRI it's in one position, usually lying down, but our spines move. Different nerves might only be compressed when you are standing up, but an MRI wouldn't capture that.

I hope that makes sense, obviously I can only speak on my experience but I thought it might be helpful hearing from someone who gets it.

scols73

Hi SarahT41,

I just wanted to say thank you for your above message. It has certainly helped me - I had spinal stabilisation surgery for a burst L2 fracture in Dec 24, after a fall downstairs, and your message has made sense of the post surgery pain and numbness I am feeling.

My consultant seems to just dismiss my symptoms but I think I will ask for an MRI on my next visit, to hopefully find the reason for my ongoing pain and discomfort.

Your message has made me realise it IS normal to have these symptoms, despite my consultant dismissing them.

I am new to this site and have posted a message asking for advice and I had hoped to find someone who had gone through what I had gone through, in the hope of getting some advice and reassurance, as well as some insight in what I can expect during my recovery.

Thank you

Sarah