Spinal stenosis causes compression of the nerve structures of the spinal cord, and of the spinal nerves and blood vessels running inside the spinal cord. Radiological imaging can evidence clearly the signs of development of degenerative joint disease, which represents the most frequent cause of this disease. It is only in the most advanced stages of degenerative joint disease that spinal stenosis can set in with compression of the nerve structures.
Traditional radiology represents the first investigational method for examining the spine and one can assess by radiology the dimensions of the vertebral canal, with a certain degree of approximation, identifying the alignment or misalignment of the vertebral bodies and the various degrees of development of posterior (interapophyseal) and anterior (intersomatic) vertebral osteoarthritis. Second level investigations magnetic resonance and computed tomography provide data that are more precise.