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Spinal Stenosis

Hi! My 71 yr old father was just diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis...For the past year and a half he has suffered so much with Sciatica...his is excruciating when he has to stand still for any length of time, such as standing in line...or..when he has to walk around alot, like in a big store or something. They just did an MRI on him to confirm the diagnosis. Moderate to severe on the right side...and Mild on the left. A few days ago, he had a steriod-epidural injection in his spine. Anybody have good results with that? I dont know much about it, and he hasnt noticed any fantastic, life changing results from it yet...not that we were expecting that....but...exactly what SHOULD we expect from that injection? He is a VERY active 71 year old-not too much keeps him down, in fact he does way TOO much for his age.
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144586 tn?1284666164
Oral steroids such as prednisone work in the short term, but they ultimately cause degenerative progression.

An exercise referral by a physician to a rehabilitative specialist, working under the physician's orders is indicated. There are excellent exercises. The Veteran's Hospital rehab specialists have this drill down perfectly.

A TENS device is helpful.

In addition topical application of medical grade dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) applied on well-cleaned skin will decrease inflammation. NEVER use industrial grade DSMO. This is a medically unapproved procedure, but it sometimes works.

A recent procedure involves injection of ozone, which is popular in Europe.

Finally, consider a laminectomy.
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1271743 tn?1320892461
I have had many of the steriod-epidural injections and facet joint injections and such, even a medial branch nerve block.  The nerve block was very painful during the procedure but the pain I left behind my shoulder blade is gone and has been for years.  On the other hand the steriod-epidural injections did not help me... they only caused more inflammation in my back.  Normally if the injection is going to help you notice the difference right away.  Different people respond differently to the injections, it works wonders for some.  I wouldn't say it did much of anything for me other than cost my insurance for the procedure.  Good luck.
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