Lumbar spinal stenosis is a condition of the spine within the group of disorders classified as degenerative in nature.  As this condition is prevalent in 30% of the older population, lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) accounts for the largest growth in lumbar surgeries.  The most common symptoms include a substantial limitation in walking, disability and an increased risk of falls.  There was little high quality research in the non-operative management of this condition up until the past 6-8 years....

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This is a topic we have discussed to some extent in previous articles, however, the need to review some of this information is due and it is always a good time of the year to discuss again due to the upcoming holiday time.  When you travel, or more importantly, when many businesses are closed for the holidays, you may find that you may be stuck to look after your acute back pain until things open up again.  And with the ever changing pandemic conditions, staying close to home may be the only ...
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When someone presents with low back pain, the diagnosis can be one of many things. Most commonly, the problem can be due to a lumbar spine joint injury, disc injury or a muscle strain. Less commonly, you can get low back pain from an infection like a urinary tract or kidney infection, bowel issues, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, tumors of the spine or spinal cord, or muscle tears, to name a few.

Let’s take a look at the symptoms of two of the most common low back pain sources, a joint in...

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Believe it or not, this is not a common question.  Often, I find myself letting patients know the serious symptoms that may arise with a back injury so they are aware of what to look for.  I wonder sometimes if this scares people, but I know that in discussing this with patients they will be better prepared to recognize these symptoms and may not ignore the symptoms if and when they arise. 

One of the first signs or symptoms to look for is the presence of “saddle parathesia”.  This is n...

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There are several sources of low back pain. 

To understand the symptoms of low back pain, we must be aware of all the anatomical structures and how they contribute to the movement of the spine.  These sources can be grouped into our “mechanical” sources of low back pain (LBP). 
There are other sources of LBP that tend to be secondary to another condition that we will also briefly discuss.  We will refer to this second group as “non-mechanical” sources. 

Mechanical Sources of Low Bac...

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