Part years of an active, athletic lifestyle, part menopause, and part middle-aged breakdown of the body as I grow older, I have some injuries that I must attend to. Including the following, but not limited to:
- Torn meniscus right knee
- Torn meniscus left knee
- Sciatica in left lower back
- Tendonitis in left front hip/groin area
- Spinal stenosis in neck
- Tendonitis/arthritis in left hand, thumb, and wrist
- Overworked and strained pelvic floor muscles
- Impingement in left shoulder
- Bursitis and scar tissue buildup in right shoulder
- Bunyon on right foot
I have had multiple rounds of physical therapy for my shoulders and back, knee rehabilitation with equipment that strengthened the muscles surrounding my knees and acupuncture sessions, as well as dry needling therapies for the spinal stenosis.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, they cite the following information regarding causes and potential treatments, “Spinal stenosis can affect anyone, but it’s most common in people over the age of 50.
The condition most commonly affects two areas of your spine:
- Lower back (lumbar spinal stenosis): Your lumbar spine consists of five bones (vertebrae) in your lower back. Your lumbar vertebrae, known as L1 to L5, are the largest of your entire spine.
- Neck (cervical spinal stenosis): Your cervical spine consists of seven vertebrae in your neck. These vertebrae are labeled C1 to C7.
Spinal stenosis is fairly common. Degenerative spinal changes affect up to 95% of people by the age of 50.
There are many treatment options for spinal stenosis. What’s best for you depends on:
- The cause.
- The location of the issue.
- The severity of your symptoms.
Nonsurgical treatments mainly help manage symptoms of spinal stenosis. They include:
- Oral medications
- Physical therapy
- Steroid injections
Surgery for spinal stenosis
Types of spine surgery include:
- Laminectomy (decompression surgery
- Laminotomy
- Laminoplasty
- Foraminotomy
- Interspinous process spacers
- Spinal fusion,”.
*Note: All content within this article is meant for informational purposes only and is in no way a replacement for professional medical or psychological advice or support. Seek immediate and appropriate care from a healthcare professional should you or a trusted loved one deem it necessary.
Pelvic floor disorders
After seeking non-surgical options like physical therapy, correcting my posture while sitting in front of the computer for my job, utilizing anti-inflammatory (non-NSAIDs) and nerve pain blocker medications, as well as targeted exercises to relieve that nerve pressure, I found I needed something more to help with the pain without using opiates or other addictive medications.
However, the typical routes of relief were not working for my pelvic floor pain. Because I have a sensitive stomach and diverticulitis, I cannot tolerate the usual NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), so I had to seek out another form of treatment. In severe cases, epidural injections or surgery may be considered. Still, thankfully, I was referred by my pelvic floor physical therapist to a urology-gynecologist who had a solution that worked well for me.
Greater Boston Urology discusses treatment options that exist for pelvic pain in women, “First-line treatment is pelvic floor physical therapy. This involves learning different stretches, movements, and breathing techniques that will train the pelvic floor muscles to relax on their own.
If pelvic floor physical therapy doesn’t work, we’ll try medications and ointments to help relax the muscles. If the medications don’t work, trigger point injections are another option.
Trigger point injections involve injecting medication into the pelvic floor muscles through the vagina. The procedure takes place in my office, and the patients are awake and comfortable. I start the procedure by administering a nerve block. The nerve block makes patients comfortable—they won’t feel the injections.
From there, I do the trigger point injections into the different pelvic muscles. The total procedure takes about 20 minutes with a potential benefit that can range from a few hours up to three months,”.
Initially, I went into my doctor’s office as they described above for the shots, but I could NOT handle it! Normally, I have a high tolerance for pain, but for me, this pain was even worse than childbirth. It is a good thing that my doctor allows her patients to have this procedure done at the hospital and under sedation! And it relieved the pain for more than four months.
In addition, I have implemented these actions into my daily routine:
- Work with a therapist to identify and manage triggers that could worsen symptoms
- Acupuncture
- Weight training three days a week, to include fifteen minutes on the stationary bike for low-impact cardio because of my injured knees, and focusing on strengthening my core and upper body for another forty-five minutes
- Massage therapy (using a hydromassage bed at the gym after each workout)
- Supplement and vitamin therapy (Once daily vitamin for women, probiotics for women, melatonin, calcium, magnesium, and zinc vitamin combo, vitamin C, vitamin D3)
- Eat a healthy diet
- End each day with a jacuzzi bath for fifteen minutes – turn off jets – add Epsom salt, and soak for at least twenty more minutes while practicing meditation and prayer during soaking time to include calming music, essential oils, and the burning of non-toxic soy candles
What diseases cause pelvic pain?
It’s also worth mentioning that chronic pelvic pain can be caused by various diseases and conditions, such as appendicitis, colon cancer, constipation, Crohn’s disease, and more. Pelvic pain or pressure can also be associated with ovarian and uterine cancers. If you experience pelvic pain along with other symptoms like frequent urination, constipation, or any unusual changes, it’s crucial to seek medical attention immediately.
The Mayo Clinic reports that, “Many types of diseases and other health conditions can cause pelvic pain. Chronic pelvic pain can be due to more than one condition.
Some pelvic pain also can come from certain muscles or ligaments — for example, by pulling a muscle in the hip or the pelvic floor.
Pelvic pain also might be caused by irritation of nerves in the pelvis.
Pelvic pain might be caused by problems linked with organs in the female reproductive system. These problems include:
- Adenomyosis — when tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows into the wall of the uterus.
- Endometriosis — when tissue that’s similar to the tissue that lines the uterus grows outside the uterus.
- Ovarian cancer — cancer that starts in the ovaries.
- Ovarian cysts — fluid-filled sacs that form in or on the ovaries and aren’t cancer.
- Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) — an infection of the female reproductive organs.
- Uterine fibroids — growths in the uterus that aren’t cancer.
- Vulvodynia — chronic pain around the opening of the vagina.
Pregnancy complications might lead to pelvic pain, including:
- Ectopic pregnancy — when a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus.
- Miscarriage — the loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks.
- Placental abruption — when the organ that brings oxygen and nutrients to the baby separates from the inner wall of the uterus.
- Preterm labor — when the body gets ready to give birth too early.
- Stillbirth — the loss of a pregnancy after 20 weeks,”.
My type of pelvic floor pain was due to nerve irritation, a pulled muscle that connects my hip and leg, as well as preterm labor. The pregnancy with my youngest son had to be induced three weeks early since I was borderline gestational diabetic. By the way, the Pitocin-induced labor was awful!
What is the most successful treatment for spinal stenosis
In conclusion, the most successful treatment for spinal stenosis depends on your unique symptoms and lifestyle. However, by combining physical therapy, targeted pain management, and—when necessary—surgical options, you can find relief and help restore normalcy to your daily functioning.