Cervical spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal and/or the spinal nerve root passages in your neck. When this narrowing occurs, your spinal cord and/or nerves may become compressed and cause symptoms such as pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in your neck, shoulders, and extremities.
surgery is performed through a small incision in the front of the neck. The damaged disc is removed, and a bone graft is inserted to restore normal spacing between the adjacent vertebrae. This newly-created space allows enough room for the nerve roots to travel through the foramina unimpeded.
A full recovery typically occurs between two and six months after cervical spinal stenosis surgery. This can depend, however, on whether you underwent a bone fusion. Recovery from a decompression alone is usually quicker than from a decompression with stabilization.
Cervical stenosis is one of the most serious results of this degeneration. Also called cervical spinal stenosis, or simply spinal stenosis, the condition is most common in adults ages 30-50 and affects about twice as many men as women.
There's no cure, but there are a variety of nonsurgical treatments and exercises to keep the pain at bay. Most people with spinal stenosis live normal lives.