Vertiflex For Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Lumbar spinal stenosis is a condition where nerves in the lower spine become pinched over time and can cause pain in your lower back and legs. Since these body parts play a big role in the ability to walk, who wouldn’t want to finally get rid of the pain that’s been haunting them for years?

Franciscan Health doctors now offer a treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis that can solve the root of the problem. Vertiflex, a new procedure to treat spinal stenosis, is a minimally invasive procedure designed to deliver long-term relief from leg and back pain.

What Causes Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the tissue that covers the spinal column that can lead to noticeable nerve pain. Spinal stenosis develops when your spinal canal, which holds several nerves, eventually narrows and causes nerve irritation.

“Spinal stenosis usually presents with people who have low back pain and not always, but a lot of the time they'll have pain that runs down their leg in the distribution of a nerve,” said John Kihlken, MD, Franciscan Health Spine Center Medical Director.

Spinal stenosis usually affects older people since it’s a condition that worsens as the spine deteriorates, Dr. Kihlken said.

“A lot of times, as we age, our spinal canals get smaller and people in that demographic end up with spinal stenosis and symptomatic spinal stenosis,” he said.

How Does Vertiflex Help Lumbar Spinal Stenosis?

Vertiflex acts like a wedge, as Dr. Kihlken explains. It’s designed to open a space where the nerves are pinched to reduce pressure and pain. You can even think of Vertiflex as a doorstop in the spine since its job is to keep the spinal canal full of nerves from crowding.

“So, what it does is it opens the spinal canal,” Dr Kihlken said. “The people who are going to benefit the most from this device, or from this procedure are going to be people who have pain in certain positions.”

The severity of spinal stenosis related pain can be affected by the position of your body, Dr. Kihlken said. For example, standing up straight can tighten the spinal canal and cause nerve pain. “And when you either sit forward or lean forward on something, you can open your spinal canal just a little bit,” he said.

Vertiflex tries to address this problem, Dr. Kihlken adds. This small implant is placed by making about a one-inch incision in the skin.

“We put this little spacer device between the spinus processes to help open the spinal canal,” he said.

How Long Does It Take To Recover From The Vertiflex Procedure?

Since the Vertiflex procedure is a one-inch incision, the procedure is scheduled as an outpatient procedure. With this, patients can get the treatment and go home on the same day with great outcomes.

Still, even with the positive outcomes of the Vertiflex procedure, Dr. Kihlken also suggests some minor restrictions at home after the procedure.

"When I perform this procedure, I do ask folks to restrict their strenuous activity for about four to six weeks afterwards,” he said. “I really don't want you to place a lot of stress on the device right after it's been put in."

Here are 5 strenuous activities to avoid during recovery from the Vertiflex procedure:

• Bicycle riding
• Jogging
• Weightlifting or lifting heavy objects
• Jump rope
• Swimming

Can You Still Do Physical Therapy After The Vertiflex Procedure?

Heading home the same day after the Vertiflex procedure and a six-week recovery is very timely. However, it's still crucial for your physician to confirm your implant works properly and stays in place.

With the brief recovery time, Dr. Kihlken recommends that you wait anywhere from six weeks to a month after the procedure before you return to physical therapy.

Even though you'll have to wait some weeks, you should still return to your physical therapy sessions to retrain your muscles for walking. You'll be able to walk more effectively than before the Vertiflex implant because you'll notice less pain.

Listen Now: Learn About Vertiflex

Lumbar spinal stenosis is quite literally a ‘pain’ in the rear – and the back and legs. This degenerative spine condition occurs when nerves in the lower spine become pinched, typically caused by normal wear and tear of the spine. It most commonly affects those age 60 and older. Franciscan Health doctors now offer a new treatment option that benefits many patients – Vertiflex®, which acts as a spacer to reduce or eliminate pressure on the nerves. Dr. John Kihlken discusses Vertiflex in the Franciscan DocPod podcast.