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Before you can identify whether you may be suffering from foraminal stenosis, it is important to understand the definition of this condition and how it may affect you.

Definitions of Foramen; Narrow; and Stenosis

The word foramen is Latin and means a natural hole or an opening or short passage, especially in the body. Most often this hole is found in a bone that a nerve will pass through. 

The word narrow means of small or limited width or limited in area or scope i.e. cramped. 

Stenosis is the constriction or narrowing of a duct or passage. 

Foraminal Stenosis

The narrowing of cervical disc space caused by the enlargement of a joint in the spinal canal best describes foraminal stenosis.  This would be the opening through which spinal nerves pass.

The vertebra has two foramina that are located on each side of the vertebra. It is through the foramina that the nerve travels through the body. When the foramina are partially blocked, the nerves may become compressed.

How Does One Develop Foraminal Stenosis

While foraminal stenosis can be congenital it is predominantly due to the degenerative process.  This means that the condition is developed at a slow rate over many years and most often from a repetitive activity or position. This could be a leisure sport, or a work related movement. 

What Areas of the Body Can Be Affected by Foraminal Stenosis

Foraminal stenosis is most common in the neck however it can also occur in the lumbar regional of the spine. 

Typically, only a single nerve root on one side of the body is affected, though if there is compression on both sides of the spine, patients will suffer from bilateral foraminal stenosis.  If the left side of the body is affected, you may hear the term referenced as left lateral foraminal stenosis. Due to the degenerative process, patients will most often experience pain and symptoms when the position or activity is performed over an extended period of time. 

Diagnosing Foraminal and/or Bilateral Foraminal Stenosis

In diagnosing foraminal or bilateral foraminal stenosis, your doctor will first discuss your medical history and ask you to describe your pain and symptoms, how often you experience pain, whether you are engaged in a certain activity or position when the pain is present and how long the pain lasts. They will also ask you if there is anything you do that allows for the pain to subside. Once that has been discussed with your doctor, you may then likely be referred for tests such as x-rays and possibly an MRI.

Treating Foraminal Stenosis

Patients are usually unresponsive to conservative treatment such as pain medication, heat/ice therapy and massage. In fact, doctors will most likely suggest altering your lifestyle to avoid the activities or positions that cause you pain and if that is not helpful in abating the pain and symptoms of foraminal stenosis, surgery may be recommended to decompress the nerve.

There are minimally invasive procedures that can now be performed and are far more beneficial to patients than the more traditional forms of back surgery. The benefits of minimally invasive procedures allow the patient to return to their normal day to day routine, have minimal scarring, no hospital stay, no use of general anesthesia and patients who elect to have this treatment are often walking the same day of the procedure.