Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: What Increases Your Risk

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What Increases Your Risk

The risk of having lumbar spinal stenosis increases if you:

• Are older than age 50.
• Have a history of spinal injury.
• Have osteoarthritis (spondylosis) of the spine, which results in disc deterioration, development of bony growths (spurs), and damage to the joints that connect the spine's vertebrae.
• Have a bone disease, such as Paget's disease, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, or diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, which may soften the spinal bones or cause calcium deposits to form.
• Are born with a defect or fracture of one or both of the wing-shaped parts of a vertebra (spondylolysis), which may allow a vertebra to slide forward or backward over the bone below, sometimes squeezing the spinal cord or a nerve root. This slipping, called spondylolisthesis, usually happens at the base of the spine.
• Have an abnormally narrow spinal canal, which may be inherited or may develop in curvature of the spine (scoliosis).
• Have a genetic (inherited) disorder in which the bones of the arms and legs do not grow to normal size and the vertebrae of the spine do not grow normally (achondroplastic dwarfism).
• Have had lower back surgery, which may cause swelling that puts pressure on the spinal nerves. Progressive spinal stenosis may occur, even after successful back surgery.

Last updated:	February 21, 2008
Author:	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Reviewed By:	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine, Robert B. Keller, MD - Orthopedics
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC