Spinal stenosis is a degenerative disease of the spine that narrows the spinal column and places pressure on the spinal chord causing pain. It is part of the aging process but can also be brought on by injury, birth defects, or infection in the spinal column. It can be very painful, but is not considered a life threatening disease. Stenosis develops slowly over time and the symptoms increase with time. Often the disease is associated with Arthritis of the back. There are two basic types of spinal stenosis: lumbar and cervical. Lumbar is present in the lower back and cervical is in the neck area. Seventy-five percent of spinal stenosis is in the lumbar region of the body. Symptoms of spinal stenosis include pain and tingling that radiates down the lower leg from the buttock area. The pain is caused from standing or walking too far and immediately goes away when sitting. It can also be relieved by hunching forward or other similar motions which cause the spine to open. The lumbar spinal stenosis is sometimes confused with blockage in the lower legs because that will generate similar pain which is relieved also by sitting and resting. Other symptoms include a hot and cold feeling in the legs, falling and general clumsiness. Cervical spinal stenosis is a more serious form of the disease as it can cause paralysis. The symptoms for cervical spinal stenosis are a general feeling of weakness and numbness, neck and shoulder pain, and sometimes loss of bowel or bladder control. In some patients evidence of spinal stenosis has been found and they have had no symptoms of the disease at all. Diagnosis of the disease is made by observing the patients posture and walking abilities and by using x-rays, MRI's, or CAT scans. Sometimes a myelogram is used where dye is injected into the spinal column and observed with an x-ray. Once the diagnosis is made, treatment plans can be determined. Treatment includes bed rest, diet to lower weight, medication to relieve pain, or surgery to widen the spinal chord column.