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The natural course of lumbar spinal stenosis
K E Johnsson1, I Rosén, A Udén
1Department of Orthopaedics, Malmö General Hospital, Lund University, Sweden.
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
|June 1, 1992
Abstract:
The course of 32 untreated patients with spinal stenosis was studied. The mean patient age was 60 years, and the mean period of observation was 49 months. About 75% of the patients had spinal claudication. In the follow-up survey, the same number of patients had claudication, but the symptoms were milder. In estimation by visual analog scale, symptoms in 70% of the cases were unchanged, 15% showed improvement, and 15% worsened. No proof of severe deterioration was found after four years, and expectant observation may be an alternative to surgical treatment.