Hi, I'm Dr. Tony Mork, an endoscopic spine specialist. Today, I'd like to talk a little bit about lumbar foraminal stenosis. Whether it's in the cervical spine or the lumbar spine, the foraminal canals can become stenosed, or narrowed. The problem is essentially the same: if there is anything inside the foraminal canal, other than the nerve that's supposed to pass through it, the nerve becomes obstructed. This could be a deposit of bone, soft tissue, or a disc. These deposits compete for space with the nerve and often result in pain in the buttock, leg, or foot.
Let's review the anatomy of the lumbar spine briefly. You can see the vertebrae, the facet joints, and the yellow spinal cord going down the center. This is the central canal, the larger canal that allows passage of the spinal cord or the nerves in the lower lumbar spine (called the cauda equina) at each level. By level, I mean the space between two discs, for example, L1 and L2, or L2 and L3. Each level has a nerve root that passes through a foraminal canal, a short tunnel.
The foraminal canal can become narrowed for several reasons. For example, if the disc is gone, and one vertebrae is on top of another, the bone would be closer, causing some narrowing. Another cause of narrowing is overgrowth of bone or osteophytes (spurs) in the facet joint. If these dig into the nerve root, it's referred to as foraminal stenosis. Additionally, if the disc pushes out into the foraminal canal, it can also compete for space with the nerve root.
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I'm Dr. Tony Mork and I run an Endoscopic Spine Surgery practice in Irvine, California and Naples, FL. I avoid a fusion when possible (which is most situations) and provide treatments that actually address the pain without taking an invasive approach.
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