How to Treat Lumbar Spinal Stenosis with a Coflex® Device?

The lower back spine is called the lumbar spine, consisting of five vertebrae between the ribs and the pelvis. Lumbar spinal stenosis is an ill spinal condition in which the gap between the spinal canals gets narrowed and, in the process, compresses the nerves traveling through the lower back into the legs.

This narrowing usually takes place at a slow and gradual pace spanning many years as a person ages. The spinal disks become less spongy, making them harden and bulging into the spinal canal resulting in narrowing of the central canal. The Coflex device is known to alleviate compression as it is made of titanium, making it strong yet flexible and supporting the spine. Let’s understand the diagnosis procedure to know how the device works.

Symptoms

The patient might feel pain, weakness, and numbness in the legs, calves, and buttocks. In lumbar spinal stenosis, the pain might radiate to both thighs and legs. It might result in defective motor function of the legs, bowel, and bladder.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is made by neurosurgeon through X-ray, CT scan or CAT scan, MRI, and Myelogram. It helps in showing the bone structure, spine alignment, and joints’ outline; show images of the spinal cord, nerve roots, and surrounding areas; and show evidence of pressure near the nerves and spinal cord, respectively.

Nonsurgical treatment

In some cases, proper medication, posture management, and exercise can prove helpful in managing the pain and strengthening bone. Analgesics and epidural medication can relieve pain and reduce swelling significantly in lumbar spinal stenosis. Physical therapy can build endurance, stabilize and protect the spine.

Surgical treatment

The primary goal of lumbar spinal stenosis surgery is to detract bone or neural elements affecting the nerves that are trying to extend throughout your body. Although there are various types of surgeries available for the lumbar spine, the most common one is decompressive laminectomy. In this procedure, the laminae of the vertebrae are extracted to create more space for the nerves.

After a direct decompression to remove bone, facet, ligament, or disc segments from the narrow spinal canal, the spine can get unstable. At this point, a Coflex device is inserted directly in a similar manner about how the decompression procedure is performed to keep the spine stable to maintain the height and motion of the spine.

The device replaces the spinal fusion to retain the natural movement in the impacted area of the posterior lumbar spine. It’s a U-shaped implant, which comes in five different sizes and can be designed according to various anatomies.

The Coflex device is implanted to provide extra space for the nerves to pass through without compressed vertebrae. Reach out to Jackson Neurosurgery Clinic to know more about their treatment techniques.