Spinal Stenosis Treatment: How the mild® Procedure Relieves Back and Leg Pain

Patients who may benefit from the mild® procedure are often diagnosed with spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication, a common cause of back and leg pain. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the central portion of the spinal canal, which can lead to nerves being pinched. When that happens, patients can experience back pain, leg pain, numbness, tingling, difficulty standing, and walking.

The nerves and the canal can be pinched for multiple reasons. One of the reasons that it can be pinched is from what’s known as ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, or one of the ligaments that forms the posterior wall of the spinal canal thickening and creating pressure on the middle of the canal. A simple way to understand how the narrowed canal limits nerve function and causes pain is to think of it as a straw that’s getting kinked.