Lumbar Spondylosis Treatment in Kolkata

Overview

Lumbar spondylosis means age-related wear in the discs and joints of the lower back. When it involves the lowest part of the spine, it is often called lumbosacral spondylosis. It is very common with age, and it often appears on X-rays or MRI scans of people with little or no pain. When it causes symptoms, these are usually lower back pain and stiffness, especially in the morning or after sitting, and sometimes pain or heaviness in the legs when walking or standing. The changes cannot be reversed, but most people improve with exercise, hands-on treatment and changes to daily activity, without surgery. Every first visit starts with an assessment by Dr. Partha Sarathi Neogi at our Kalighat clinic.

How Dr. Neogi assesses lumbar spondylosis

1. Your history: when the pain started, what makes it better or worse, how far you can walk or stand, your work and daily activities, and any leg symptoms.
2. A review of your X-ray or MRI reports if you have them, explained in plain language. Findings such as disc bulges and degenerative changes are common and do not always explain the pain.
3. Movement and strength of the back, hips and legs, and how you sit, bend and walk.
4. A check of the nerves to your legs: strength, sensation and reflexes, to look for nerve root irritation or narrowing of the spinal canal.
5. A plain-language explanation and a plan, including exercises to start at home.

What lumbar spondylosis is, and how many sessions you may need

With age, the discs between the lower back bones lose height and water, the facet joints wear, and bony edges can form. These changes, called lumbar spondylosis, can make the back stiff and sore, especially after long sitting, bending or lifting. In some people the space for the nerves narrows (lumbar spinal stenosis). This causes pain, heaviness or tingling in the legs that comes on with walking or standing and eases with sitting or bending forward. If a nerve root is irritated, pain can travel down one leg, like sciatica.

Care focuses on exercises for back and hip strength and movement, staying active with walking within comfort, and advice on sitting, lifting and daily activities. Joint mobilisation, soft-tissue work and, when it is suitable and you agree, a chiropractic adjustment can ease pain alongside exercise. Lumbar traction, therapeutic ultrasound or TENS/IFT may give short-term relief for some people, alongside exercise rather than instead of it. How many sessions you need depends on how long you have had symptoms and how you respond, and progress is reviewed at each visit. Our back pain, sciatica and slip disc pages cover related problems.

Who we often see

• Lower back pain and stiffness with lumbar or lumbosacral spondylosis on an X-ray or MRI report
• Back stiffness that is worst in the morning or after sitting
• Leg pain or heaviness when walking or standing that eases with sitting
• Back pain that spreads to the buttock or down one leg
• Lower back pain that keeps coming back in people over 40
• Back pain that makes long journeys, housework or standing at work difficult

What you can do at home

• Stay as active as you comfortably can; long bed rest usually makes stiffness worse.
• Break up long periods of sitting with short walks or a change of position.
• If walking brings on leg pain, try shorter walks with rests, or lean forward on a support for a moment.
• A warm pack for 10 to 15 minutes can ease morning stiffness.
• Do your exercises regularly; mild discomfort that settles within a day is acceptable.
• For pain medicine, follow your doctor's or pharmacist's advice.

Related conditions

• Back pain
• Sciatica
• Slip disc
• Hip pain

Frequently Asked Questions