Back pain plagues millions of Americans, and studies show that almost 5 out of every 1,000 of those struck with back pain suffers from a condition known as spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spine in the back and the neck. It’s a chronic condition that often causes pressure on the spinal cord, resulting in back pain. Numbness and cramping may also result from this condition as well as weakness in the arms or legs.

Physical therapy can help for some time, and over the counter pain medicine can also be of some use. These tools are called conservative pain management and are often suggested by doctors to help avoid possible surgery.

But because this condition is chronic, with the pressure becoming increasingly more painful, surgery may become an option.

Spinal stenosis surgery occurs on either the back or the neck, depending on the most painful spot. The goal of such a surgery is to relieve the pressure on the nerves, providing room for them to lay comfortably without pressure. This is called decompression and may help reduce nerve inflammation, and therefore, nerve pain.

In some cases, the decompression is not enough, and so spinal stabilization, or spinal fusion, is also required. Spinal fusion creates an environment where the vertebrae in the back fuse together during the healing process. This helps to make the spine more stable, relieving problems like slipped disks, but it also decreases back mobility.

The recovery period for most spinal stenosis surgery is between 2-6 weeks. This recovery will include physical therapy where a patient will learn how to sit, stand, walk and lift in a way that will not injure the back.

Although most doctors recommend using conservative pain management tools first, 80%-90% of patients who have surgery for spinal stenosis find that their pain is relieved.