Is cervical stenosis degenerative

Answer 1

This occurs with degeneration of the spinal discs and the vertebrae... in other words, Arthritis. As we age, life-long bending and twisting of the neck begins to cause irritation to the joints of the spine and discs. Bony "spurs" begin to form as the body tries to repair the wearing down of the edges of the vertebras. These bony spurs get bigger, and in the neck, where there isn't much room in the spinal canal (where the spinal cord runs) these spurs eventually begin to apply pressure on the cord. If that happens, the surgeons go in through the back of your neck and remove the outer portion of the vertebra, called the lamella (the operation is called a laminectomy). If the problem is the disc degeneration, and the disc(s) begin applying pressure on the cord, then the surgeons go in from the front of the neck and remove the guilty disc(s), and insert peices of bone in the 'slot' where the disc had been. After 3 months that portion of the spine becomes "fused". A really good place to read about this is (cut & paste the URL): http://www.umm.edu/spinecenter/education/cervical_spinal_stenosis.htm