Spinal stenosis is often the result of the aging
process, which over time causes the soft tissues and bones in the spine to
harden or grow excessively. These changes may narrow the spinal canal and put
pressure on the spinal cord and/or spinal nerve roots. Spinal stenosis is seen
most often in adults older than age 50. Some age-related degeneration of the
spine occurs in up to 95% of people by age 50. Even though narrowing of the
spinal canal may be equally common in men and women, symptoms of spinal
stenosis occur more frequently in women.1
Some people develop spinal stenosis because of back problems they are
born with. This is known as congenital spinal stenosis. Symptoms of congenital
spinal stenosis are often first noticed before age 40.2
Citations
Garfin SR, Rauschning W (2001). Spinal stenosis.
AAOS Instructional Course Lectures, 50:
145-152.
Isaac Z, et al. (2005). Lumbar spinal stenosis. In WJ
Koopman, ed., Arthritis and Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology, 15th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2087-2092. Philadelphia: Lippincott
Williams and Wilkins.
Garfin SR, Rauschning W (2001). Spinal stenosis.
AAOS Instructional Course Lectures, 50:
145-152.
Isaac Z, et al. (2005). Lumbar spinal stenosis. In WJ
Koopman, ed., Arthritis and Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology, 15th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2087-2092. Philadelphia: Lippincott
Williams and Wilkins.
