While volunteering for the Salvation Army Bell Ringing yesterday, I was reminded of a common sign of lumbar stenosis. I was standing outside of our local Kroger grocery store (it was very cold by the way!) and I noticed a few shoppers walking into the store with an empty shopping cart. If you look carefully, you will notice their posture while pushing the carts. They are flexed forward, and leaning on the cart. This posture, flexion of the lumber spine opens up the spinal canal and allows the nerves that control the lower extremity to work better.
Ironically, most shoppers that do this, do not even notice that it is their change in posture is what improves their gait. They assume the cart acts as a "crutch" to help them walk.
In new patient consults that I suspect lumbar stenosis, I always ask if they walk better with a shopping cart. I usually get a surprised look of - yes it does, or they have to think about it before they realize that pushing the cart actually does help their gait.
What we use in our office is a technique called Flexion Distraction which helps open up the spinal canal which is compressed by lumbar stenosis. Studies have shown an increase of spinal canal area increase by 28%.
Notice in the photo above, the shopper is not just pushing the shopping cart, she is leaning forward and putting some of her body weight on the cart. This creates an increased flexion posture in the lumbar spine, allowing the nerves to work better in her legs. This is a common sign of lumbar stenosis that can be helped with chiropractic care using Flexion Distraction technique.