If your stenosis is located in the neck, avoid doing arm-strengthening exercises that involve lift… Patients are typically more comfortable while flexed forward. What activities should be avoided with spinal stenosis? While it’s always beneficial to keep moving, long walks on a hard surface can put the same kind of stress on your back that running can, and may cause your pain to flare up. The BalancedBack Total Joint Replacement is the technology platform developed by 3Spine as an alternative to fusion for the lumbar spine. That helps reduce potential issues for stenosis patients who are weight-lifting. What should you avoid or stop doing at this time? Do not walk or stand for longer durations. Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Yet, when you are living with a back problem, learning what you should not do is often as important as learning what you should do. Lifestyle modification: Staying active is an important part of spinal stenosis treatment, as forgoing physical activity altogether can make symptoms worse. Why this is a spinal stenosis exercise to avoid: Nine times out of ten, people with spinal stenosis find that walking and standing are painful. While people with spinal stenosis may find themselves hunching or sitting still to manage pain, experts recommend doing just the opposite. Medically reviewed by Eva Umoh Asomugha, M.D. It may be a common problem, but spinal stenosis often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. INSURANCE COVERAGE . Spinal stenosis in the low back (lumbar spine) can cause pain, numbness, or weakness in the back, buttocks, and legs. • Avoid stretching in a standing position and extension stretches. It's important to do these exercises and not just use anti-inflammatory medications alone. Before you begin physical therapy exercises for the pinched nerve, your physical therapist may begin with education on proper movements. The Influence of Exercise on Perceived Pain and Disability in Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/selected-amendments-fdc-act/21st-century-cures-act, KY: 1-345-232-0690 | US/CA: 1-781-291-8040 | Exercises and stretches aren’t particularly helpful for spinal stenosis—and in fact, some exercises will aggravate your condition (as you may have already discovered).1 But if you’re among the many people who exercise regularly as part of your daily routine, you may be wondering if there are any exercises you should avoid if you have spinal stenosis. This device is available for investigational use only per Schedule 16 of the Department of Health Regulation No. When your spinal canal narrows, it may put pressure on your spinal cord. The most common cause of spinal stenosis in your neck or low back is aging. ; Deformity: some infants are born with a congenital spinal deformity which narrows the spinal canal. Any activity that puts stress on the spine will not help spinal stenosis and may make the condition worse. Finally, you may be wondering whether surgery should be considered. You should avoid following activities in case if you are suffering from spinal stenosis condition: High impact activities including exercise and jogging. If your stenosis is located in the neck, avoid doing arm-strengthening exercises that involve lifting weights up over your head. Putting a weight bar across your shoulders and doing squats—or doing any other type of weight lifting—compresses your spine. Patients might be advised to bicycle while leaning forward over their handlebars or to lean on a walker or on a shopping cart while walking for long periods of time. If you have lumbar spinal stenosis, you may be waiting and hoping it will go away. Spinal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal or neural foramen that results in pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. They can also show you how to adjust your posture to help control your symptoms. By using Verywell Health, you accept our, Everything You Need to Know About Spinal Stenosis, Exercise Program for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, Treat Your Back Pain by Stopping Yourself From Doing Certain Things, Learn the First Exercise You Should Be Doing If You Have Spinal Stenosis, Use Exercise With Physical Therapy to Treat Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, Spinal Fusion Surgery: Everything You Need to Know, Treat Spinal Stenosis With the Standing Back Flexion Exercise, The Symptoms, Anatomy, and Treatment of Neurogenic Claudication, The Easiest Exercise to Improve the Way Your Back Bends Forward, Spinal Stenosis Surgery: Everything You Need to Know, 3 Exercises to Do (in Order) to Properly Progress Low Back Flexion, McKenzie Exercises Your Physical Therapist Uses to Treat Low Back Pain, treatment options for lumbar spinal stenosis, Biomechanics of Degenerative Spinal Disorders, The Influence of Exercise on Perceived Pain and Disability in Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials, Use of conventional and alternative treatment strategies for a case of low back pain in a F/A-18 aviator, Surgery versus nonsurgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis: a randomized trial, Effectiveness of surgery versus conservative treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis: A system review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sometimes bone and other tissue grow into this canal and press on the nerves that branch out from the spinal cord. Symptoms may be very bad at times and not so bad at other times. So if you have spinal stenosis, this type of repetitive impact will very likely irritate your spinal stenosis. Also, avoid doing extension stretches (those where you bend backwards). A 2017 review published in the International Journal of Surgery confirmed surgery and non-surgical approaches, such as physical therapy, are equally effective. However, the study authors found those who underwent surgery had higher complication rates. I am standing for a long period. There are things you should stop doing if you have back pain in general, but lumbar spinal stenosis is a special condition. If you have known other people with back pain, you may be waiting and hoping that your symptoms will just go away. More invasive options such as epidural steroid injections or surgery can be done at that time if needed. Planks, side planks, unilateral carries, lunges, and gentle twists are just some examples of spinal stenosis exercises that could greatly improve strength without putting the spine in a position that might lead to more pain. But before your spinal stenosis reaches that point, if it ever does, stop worrying about surgery and engage in an active program to treat your spinal stenosis. He served as assistant team physician to Chivas USA (Major League Soccer) and the United States men's and women's national soccer teams. With this treatment for stenosis, patients are usually counseled to avoid activities that cause adverse spinal stenosis symptoms. If you have spinal stenosis there are some things to avoid that include: Exercises if they bring much pain after being engaged. 2006;14:11. Medically reviewed by Erin Pereira, DPT, OCS, Verywell Health uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. 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