Situations such as these pose a special problem requiring special care - and patience. Many of the in-home safeguards outlined here are likely to meet with resistance. Most people like the way their living areas are set up and want to keep them the way they are. However, it is better to think first about avoiding a painful and perhaps debilitating fracture and then consider rearranging living space and taking some precautions. Spinal Stenosis Compromises Lifestyle Large numbers of senior citizens in the U.S. are developing spinal stenosis.
Stenosis means narrowing.
With spinal stenosis, the narrowing occurs in the spinal canal. The canal is the hollow center of the spinal column, which contains and protects the spinal cord and nerve roots. Narrowing of the canal can cause pinching of the cord and nerves. The understanding and treatment of spinal stenosis is one of the exciting new developments in orthopaedics during the past ten years. Two decades ago, few doctors had heard of it.