Nutritional supplements for spinal stenosis are marketed to patients who apparently really do not understand what stenosis truly is or how it creates pain. While some nutritional supplements might provide some small degree of benefit to the spine in order to prevent problems, no supplement will have any efficacy for treating, reversing or curing spinal stenosis. This we can say with 100% certainty.
Nutritional supplements are a huge and seemingly every-growing sector of the health industry. More and more nutritional products and created and sold each year, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide. Nutritional supplements are incredibly profitable and largely unregulated in many countries. It is easy to see why companies tend to market these products both universally and to niche demographics, such as spinal stenosis patients.
This essay explores the utilization of nutritional supplements in spinal stenosis patients. We will examine any potential benefits that might exist, as well as provide a fact-based view of the reasons why many of these products are sold and the realistic results users can expect.
What are Nutritional Supplements for Spinal Stenosis?
Nutritional supplements are added to dietary intake to boost consumption of particular vitamins, minerals and substances that are theorized to have positive effects on the body. The nature of these ingredients ranges greatly. When it comes to spinal stenosis, most ingredients are said to be beneficial to the spine, as well as effective for improving nerve functionality.
Typical ingredients in spine-oriented nutritional supplements include glucosamine and chondroitin, vitamins, D, B12, C, D and K, calcium, magnesium, amino acids, antioxidants and possibly even stem cell additives. Some products contain herbal ingredients, while others might contain avurvedic or homeopathic additives.
Nutritional supplements usually come in powder form, although some are liquid based, and can be added to virtually any food or beverage consumed.
Nutritional Supplements Health Benefits
Nutritional supplements are already a controversial topic, since there are just as many critics of their use as advocates. Some doctors say that virtually all nutritional supplements are unnecessary for people who eat healthily and many experts cite that most of the active ingredients in most supplements are not digested and integrated into the body to any significant degree. Instead, many supplements are simply passed through the body as waste, making them hugely wasteful in cost, as well. Advocates take the opposite stance, with many people ingesting a catalog of supplements daily at tremendous financial expense, often while continuing to experience aging and health issues just like the rest of the “unsupplemented” population…
We believe that some supplements may be conservatively helpful for some people and some dietary objectives, but tend to advise against excessive use, since the industry as a whole is largely unregulated, uses dubious research to support unscientific claims, often uses dangerous ingredients or flawed manufacturing processes and generally plays on people’s ignorance and unrealistic desire to stay young and healthy forever. Worst of all, the cost of supplements is excessive, often amounting to 10,000% their manufacturing cost! A substantial portion of all nutritional supplements are pure scams, while a few others might be truly effective health-encouraging products.
Limitations of Using Nutritional Supplements for Spinal Stenosis
There are no nutritional supplements that can cure spinal stenosis or even reduce the severity of its symptoms. This is because food ingredients do not remove blockages from the central or foraminal spinal canals and can not undo compression of nerve tissue caused by stenosis. This is common sense, but the logic seems wasted on the countless patients who purchase expensive supplements as a means of curing particular health disorders, like spinal and neuroforaminal stenosis.
We recommend focusing on achieving an accurate diagnosis first, then pursuing indicated and appropriate medical treatment for spinal stenosis if the condition is indeed pathological. If you want to trust nutritional supplements to provide general health benefits, then that is up to your judgment, but we strongly suggest not buying into any hype that points towards any supplement or ingredient as being beneficial towards curing or preventing spinal stenosis.
Spinal Stenosis > Spinal Stenosis Treatment > Nutritional Supplements for Spinal Stenosis
