This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by GARFIN, S. R.
Right arrow Articles by MIRKOVIC, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by GARFIN, S. R.
Right arrow Articles by MIRKOVIC, S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 81:572-86 (1999)
© 1999 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.

Instructional Course Lecture

Instructional Course Lectures, The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons - Spinal Stenosis*{dagger}

STEVEN R. GARFIN, M.D.{ddagger}, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, HARRY N. HERKOWITZ, M.D.§, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN and SRDJAN MIRKOVIC, M.D.#, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

An Instructional Course Lecture, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons


   Introduction
 
Spinal stenosis is a narrowing or stricture of the spinal canal. Cauda equina and nerve-root compression are noted in many asymptomatic individuals8. Therefore, narrowing alone does not explain all of the symptoms and signs seen in patients who have the clinical syndrome of spinal stenosis, or neurogenic claudication.

The spinal degenerative process associated with aging leads to pathoanatomical and pathophysiological changes with occasional clinical consequences. Not only does narrowing occur, but abnormal spinal motion can further increase the degree of compression. With progressive degenerative changes and compression, spinal stenosis may become symptomatic, although the severity of the symptoms is not necessarily associated with the magnitude of the compression seen on imaging studies.


   Classification
 
Spinal stenosis can be classified as either congenital or acquired3 (Table I). Congenital stenosis is commonly seen in individuals who have achondroplasia or another short-stature syndrome. The congenital classification also includes stenosis in individuals of . . . [Full Text of this Article]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?