Your spinal canal only has so much room to accommodate your central nervous system and, when the passageway narrows, sensitive nerves are crowded and respond by signaling pain. As a result of this spinal stenosis, you’re left dealing with ongoing discomfort that greatly affects your quality of life.
While pain medications can certainly provide some respite from spinal stenosis, the risk of addiction looms large, and you want to explore other options. In these cases, the team here at Advanced Spine Care and Pain Management urges you to consider medical marijuana as a viable tool in your efforts to get out from under the cloud of pain.
Here’s a look at the advantages of using medical marijuana to address the pain associated with spinal stenosis.
All humans are equipped with an endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is a cell signaling network that regulates a wide range of functions, including:
Your ECS controls these functions by directing the traffic of most of the neurotransmitters in your brain, as well as those in your peripheral nervous system. (Neurotransmitters are molecules that travel between your nerve fibers and your cells.) To accomplish this extensive communication, your ECS is equipped with cannabinoid receptors that are designed to bond with endocannabinoids, which are molecules your body produces naturally.
Marijuana (cannabis) contains molecules that are much like your natural endocannabinoids, and these molecules can interact with your ECS in a way that influences your pain signaling and inflammation — two of the primary concerns when it comes to spinal stenosis.
Spinal stenosis can be a frustrating condition to deal with because it’s often degenerative, which means the narrowing in your spinal canal continues to progress. Whether you have spinal stenosis in your neck or lower back, you’re left with ongoing pain and discomfort, and sometimes tingling and numbness in your extremities, as the nerve compression worsens.
With medical marijuana, our goal is to influence your ECS in a way that reduces the pain signaling as well as any inflammation that may be interfering with your nerves.
As an added bonus, medical marijuana can also relieve your anxiety and help you sleep better, which can go a long way toward pain relief as your body relaxes.
There are several advantages of using medical marijuana for relieving the discomfort of spinal stenosis, including:
If you want to explore whether medical marijuana can help control your spinal stenosis pain, please contact our office in Hartsdale, New York, to set up a consultation.
