How to treat spinal stenosis?
Patient: what is the best treatment for spinal stenoisis I am 5'9'' and67  years old.  My weight is 167lbs. 15 years back I had two  epidurel shot. Last July I had again one more shot. One month I went for a Aurvedic treatment. Is it good? or what I  have to do next. Doctor: the treatment depends on your goal as a patient.  the only cure for spinal stenosis is surgery but this is only to relieve the symptoms caused by compression.  there are usually many other related issues that cause pain such as disc herniations and facet arthritis that will not be fixed by the surgery.  complete pain is an unrealistic goal.  you should make a goal such as "to be able to walk a mile" or "to play golf" as these are treatable goals for which medications can be tried.  you can't get a back transplant so pain relief is unlikely.  if the aurvedic treatment helped then continue doing it.  same thing chiropractors and medical massageetc.  the only absolute need for surgery is loss if bowel or bladder control