Each year, lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a common chronic pain condition, impacts over 2 million patients in the U.S.
Commonly diagnosed in patients over the age of 50, symptomatic LSS is often triggered by age-related arthritis causing a narrowing of the lower spinal canal, or lumbar area.
In children and healthy adults, our vertebral disks hold a high water ratio that helps absorb the impact of movement on our bodies. However, as we get older, our vertebrae can lose its ability to retain water. As a result, the space surrounding our vertebral column may begin to constrict and degenerate, allowing the discs between our bones to put direct pressure on our spinal cord and nerve endings.