Spinal Stenosis Walking Aids and Tips

Adjusting how you walk and using walking aids can go a long way in helping you stay more mobile and walk further when you have spinal stenosis.

Over time, small changes in posture, support and walking breaks can lead to a significant increase in your total walking distance and trust that you can walk more reliably.

7 quick tips and walking aids for spinal stenosis

Here are the most important walking aids and tips to help you walk more reliably when you have stenosis:

1. Utilize trekking poles: These hiking poles provide extra points of contact with the ground, improving balance and allowing for a subtle forward lean that offloads the lower back.
2. Use a rollator or walker: For more severe symptoms, walking while leaning on a rolling walker provides extra stability and allows the spine to maintain a flexed position to keep the pressure off the nerves.
3. Walk on flat surfaces: Avoid steep hills and stairs whenever possible. If you are walking outside, find walking routes that are relatively flat and have a stable surface (e.g. avoid gravel or sand).
4. Walk on a treadmill set on a slight incline: The body naturally leans slightly forward to walk on a slight uphill incline, and this forward leaning posture opens up the space for the nerves in your lower back.  An easy way to achieve this position is to walk on a treadmill set at a 1 - 2% incline.
5. Take "leaning breaks": Instead of standing still when pain starts, find a waist-high surface like a kitchen counter or a sturdy railing to lean your forearms on. This unfolds the ligaments in the spine and provides a quicker recovery than standing upright.
6. Pace your activity: Break a long walk into several shorter sessions to lessen the cumulative nerve irritation that leads to leg weakness.  While you take a break, sit down or lean forward with your hands resting on something for support (e.g. a wall, the back of a bench).
7. Shorten your stride: Keep your stride relatively short, with your feet landing directly under your hips as you walk. Avoid reaching too far forward with your legs with each stride, as this tends to create an arch in your lower back and trigger nerve pain.

Read more: Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and Walking Problems

One final walking aid for spinal stenosis is water therapy in a swimming pool.  When walking on land is too painful, walking in a warm pool as part of an aquatic therapy exercise program is recommended.  The buoyancy of the water reduces pressure on your spinal nerves, and the gentle resistance from the water helps build your muscle strength.

Warm up before you walk:

Walking tends to be more comfortable after warming up the muscles in your legs and lower back. An easy way to do this is to:

• Apply a heating pad set on low on your lower back for 10 to 20 minutes prior to walking
• Warm up the muscles in your legs by moving them while in a comfortable seated position.  For example, sit in an upright chair, and “march” in place by lifting first one knee then the other, repeat 10 times for each leg.

See Exercises for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Cool inflammation after you walk:

Many people find that applying an ice pack for 10 to 15 minutes to the lower back (over a shirt or towel) after walking reduces localized inflammation that tends to flare up after a walk.

Final thoughts:

If the inflammation and symptoms from your spinal stenosis are not improving, contact your doctor and/or physical therapist to discuss medical treatments and lifestyle modifications to more fully address your symptoms.

For example, specific spinal stenosis exercises can unload the stress on your lower spine and reduce inflammation from around the nerves. Inflammation can also be more directly targeted through a combination of diet, exercise, topical and oral medications and, occasionally, image-guided injections.

Learn More: Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Treatment