The human body as an extremely precise and complex “instrument”, in order to coordinate the activities of various organs, tissues and cells, need to develop the “transportation system” as a guarantee. The importance of the spine as a “transportation artery” can be imagined. However, with age, coupled with sedentary, long-time driving, trauma and other factors, the spine this “trunk road” will also encounter traffic congestion spinal stenosis, especially in the lumbar spine. How to dredge the lumbar spine this traffic artery? Congestion performance Paroxysmal claudication is a typical symptom Upright walking is a milestone in the course of human evolution, although the hands have been liberated, but from now on to the spine plus a heavy burden. Young people joint cartilage, ligaments and other connective tissues are more flexible, even if the impact of strenuous exercise can be absorbed. And once a person reaches middle age, the situation is very different, intervertebral discs and other tissues of the water content gradually decreased, like aging rubber mat, the elasticity is greatly reduced. In addition, the ligaments that maintain the stability of the spinal column will also hypertrophy. The spinal canal for the nerves and blood vessels through the space was very small, now hardened and proliferated discs and ligaments to join in the fun, the lumbar spinal canal will inevitably occur “traffic jam”. Lower extremity sensation and movement depends on the innervation of the nerves, waist and leg nutrient transportation and metabolite discharge depends on blood vessels. Now the lumbar spinal canal is “congested”, the nerves and blood vessels are compressed, the consequences are self-evident. After the ischemia, the nerves can not freely dominate the movement of both lower limbs, the elderly will feel the two legs have no strength, walking difficulties, and even limping. After a little rest, the pressure on the nerves and blood vessels is reduced, and the symptoms of leg soreness, discomfort and limping will improve. Therefore, paroxysmal “stilted feet” is a typical symptom of lumbar spinal stenosis, do not think that long standing, walking back pain is inevitable after ageing. Getting up when the pain symptoms for the lightest Lumbago is a common health problem for middle-aged and elderly people, many people will blame it on “rheumatism”. Although rheumatism is also a common and frequent disease among middle-aged and elderly people, it is significantly different from the symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis. Rheumatism is an autoimmune disease, due to immune dysfunction, the joint cartilage, ligaments and other connective tissues are damaged, the patient will have the typical symptoms of “morning stiffness”. The so-called “morning stiffness” is the stiffness and pain in the joints when waking up in the morning, limitation of movement, after a period of warming up, all kinds of discomfort can be significantly relieved. Lumbar spinal stenosis is the opposite. After a night’s sleep, the intervertebral discs and ligaments are not compressed by the weight and are fully relaxed, and the pressure on the nerves and blood vessels is also improved, so the symptoms are the most insidious when you first get up, and you may not even feel any discomfort. After a period of activity, the weight of the whole body is once again pressed onto the spine, the lumbar spinal canal lumen is narrowed again, and the symptoms of pain and discomfort return. In addition, lumbar spinal stenosis has another typical symptom – the discomfort is aggravated when the body is in an upright position and relieved by bending over. Unblocking program lumbar spine X-ray film is not enough Many middle-aged and elderly people hold this view – anyway, the annual physical examination to take a film, do not have to worry about lumbar spinal stenosis “sneak attack”. From the perspective of specialized medicine, such a viewpoint is questionable. although X-ray can clearly show the image of bones, but can not show the image of soft tissues. On an X-ray, the discs, ligaments, and other soft tissues appear to be “vacant”. The doctor can only indirectly determine the shape and health of the soft tissues based on the images of the bones around the “empty space”. In addition, X-rays project three-dimensional images onto a flat surface, placing higher demands on the doctor’s clinical experience and spatial imagination. To summarize, it is difficult to timely and accurately indicate lumbar spinal stenosis by taking only one lumbar spine X-ray per year. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as a new generation of medical imaging equipment, is the “gold standard” for lumbar spinal stenosis diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging is realized with the help of changes in magnetic induction intensity, which makes the imaging of soft tissues particularly clear and does not cause radiation damage to the human body. Mildly ill patients may try conservative treatment The lumbar spinal canal such as the “main traffic” occurred “congestion”, only with the help of internal medicine conservative treatment, the effect is very limited. When the disease is at an early stage and the symptoms of localized soreness and limp are mild, the symptoms can be improved to a certain extent by taking medication and physical therapy. Although some antipyretic and analgesic drugs can reduce inflammatory reactions and relieve pain, prolonged use will bring about digestive tract irritation and even lead to leukopenia and damage to liver and kidney functions. Physical treatments such as traction and heat therapy can also improve local blood circulation to a certain extent, but they are unable to break the root of the disease. Further, epidural injection of glucocorticoids can also be used to reduce the local inflammatory response. Regardless of which of the above three conservative treatments is used, the treatment mechanism is to reduce and improve the inflammatory reaction caused by compression. Therefore, they can only relieve the symptoms within a short period of time, but cannot completely cut off the root cause of the disease, and the psychological comfort is greater than the actual effect. Experts suggest that patients with mild symptoms may be able to try conservative treatments, but when symptoms develop to the point that they affect daily work and life, and after various conservative treatments, the symptoms do not improve, and even progressive aggravation of the patient should consider surgery. Minimally Invasive Decompression Helps Patients Drive Away Chronic Diseases When it comes to surgery, I believe that many people will be shocked, and even immediately associate it with huge wounds and large amounts of bleeding. …… It is undeniable that these are indeed the pictures of traditional therapies. Total laminectomy has long been the standard surgical method for treating spinal stenosis. This approach requires a 12-15 centimeter, or even longer, incision in the back of the spine, and even more frighteningly, it requires forceful stripping and pulling away of the muscles of the back before the back wall of the spinal canal is removed. This surgical method involves a large incision, heavy muscle damage, and the removal of the entire back wall of the spinal canal, so the surgery is prone to spinal instability and more surgical bleeding. Nowadays, with doctors’ deepening understanding of the pathogenesis of spinal stenosis and the gradual advancement of modern science and technology, especially the development of surgical microscopes and endoscopes, minimally invasive methods can be used to treat spinal stenosis. The minimally invasive approach involves making a small incision in the back, usually only 2 -3 centimeters, with the help of an endoscope or microscope. If the stenosis is long, the opening can be made even longer. The posterior wall of the spinal canal is reached through a muscular gap and a “window” is created in the posterior wall of the spinal canal to enlarge the posterior wall and the anterior aspect of the spinal canal in a subtle manner. Read more: Which patients need minimally invasive surgery? Patients who still suffer from low back and leg pain after systematic conservative treatment, which seriously affects their work and life. 2. Intermittent claudication and numbness of both lower limbs due to walking shorter distances or standing for a short period of time. 3.CT or MRI examination found that the spinal stenosis is very serious, and the nerve compression is obvious, and there is pain and numbness in the lower limbs or numbness around the anus. 4.Spinal stenosis is also combined with severe lumbar disc herniation symptoms. 5.The whole spinal canal is found to be very narrow in the center and both sides on CT or MRI.