Three Principles for Conservative Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Description: Report on Diagnosis and Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Haig AJ, Tomkins CC JAMA. 2010;303:71-72
A review and commentary address the diagnosis and management of lumbar spinal stenosis, a condition in which decreased space for neural and vascular structures in the lumbar spine results in buttock or lower extremity pain, with or without back pain. Three key steps in evaluating older patients with suspected spinal disorders are to identify and treat what is not stenosis, to define and treat the consequences of stenosis, and to treat presumed stenosis even if definitive diagnosis cannot be reached.