Show Notes
Spinal stenosis isn't a diagnosis — it's a description of a narrowed space, and chasing the space instead of what's narrowing it is what keeps people stuck doing knee hugs and child's pose for years.
If you've been told you have spinal stenosis at L4/5 or L5/S1, this episode explains why that's only half the picture. The real injury — a disc bulge or herniation pushing in from the front, facet joint hypertrophy or thickened ligaments pushing in from the back, or a spondylolisthesis shifting the vertebra out of line — is what the "stenosis" label is actually describing, and it's the injury that needs addressing, not the hole itself.
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We explain why "opening up the hole" with knee hugs, child's pose, cat-cow and cat-camel gives short-term relief but reinforces the underlying instability and keeps people stuck in the same cycle for months or years, why spinal decompression on a table is a genuine relief tool but not rehabilitation, and why two people with the identical MRI report can have very different recoveries depending on how they look after the injury. We cover why the first couple of weeks of rehab show improvement through coordination and technique rather than strength, why flare-ups are a normal and expected part of recovery rather than a reason to stop, and why building real load-bearing capacity is what actually takes pressure off the injured segment — not making more space for the nerve.
🔑 Key Topics Covered 🕳️ Spinal stenosis is a description, not a diagnosis: the real problem is what's narrowing the space — a disc bulge or herniation at the front, facet joint hypertrophy or ligament thickening at the back, or a spondylolisthesis shifting the vertebra out of line — and that's what needs treating, not the hole itself.
🔄 Why "opening the hole" is a trap: knee hugs, child's pose, cat-cow and cat-camel provide short-term relief by temporarily enlarging the space, but repeating them stops the injured segment from ever restabilising and keeps you stuck in the same cycle.
🛌 Spinal decompression is relief, not rehab: towel and bed decompression at home can genuinely take pressure off the disc, but it's a relief-based practice, not a substitute for the strengthening work that rebuilds stability.
💪 What rehab actually takes: learning to control a neutral spine with the Core 6 — dead bug, marching bridge, squat, hip hinge, step up and single-leg hip hinge — is a skill that improves within days, with real strengthening following over weeks to months once technique is safe.
🧍 It's not just the injury, it's who's carrying it: two people with an identical stenosis report can have very different recoveries depending on their strength, flexibility and the demands of daily life around the injury.
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