Do you find yourself always wanting to lean over the shopping cart as you go strolling down the aisles in your local supermarket or wander around Costco or Walmart? Does your lower back just feel better when you are leaning forward?
Believe it or not, Doctors often refer to this as a “Positive Shopping Cart Sign”!
When a patient tells me that they love to lean on the shopping cart, this is an important clue as to what may be causing that persistent pain in their lower back or lumbar spine. This important clinical sign often results in a diagnosis of Spinal Stenosis, a very common condition in the lumbar spine.
The word “Stenosis” translates to Narrowing; in effect narrowing the space where the nerve root exits the spine to travel down the leg. If the space is narrowed, symptoms soon follow.
Patients with Spinal Stenosis often describe visits to the shopping mall where they find they can only walk a certain distance before their lower back starts to bother them and they have to stop and rest. After a rest period they can start back up again until they have to stop and rest once again.
Does this sound like you? If it does, the good news is that there is an alternative to invasive back surgery that can often resolve the problem.
Positive Shopping Cart Sign? Give me a call and let’s talk about it!
Dr. Jeffrey K. Tunick