The word "stenosis" in layman's terms, simply means "narrowing".
For example, if you have coronary artery stenosis, that means an artery supplying blood (and oxygen) to your heart muscle has become narrowed, most commonly because of cholesterol deposits, and thus you are in danger of having a heart attack. A heart attack is basically injury to the heart muscle caused by that muscle getting an insufficient supply of oxygen.
Regarding spinal stenosis, the spinal cord and the nerves that come in and out of it are completely surrounded by the bones that make up your vertebral column. Openings in these bones allow passageways for the cord and the spinal nerves. Spinal stenosis means that some of these openings have become narrowed and thus some of the nerves are being "pinched". There are many causes for this including slipped (or herniated) discs, arthritic changes to the bones, inflammation of some sort, improper alignment of the vertebrae due to injury, etc., etc. Celebrex is an anti-inflammatory medication. Inflammation causes swelling, and swelling can narrow those openings and pinch nerves. Sometimes muscle tension can cause the spine to be held in improper alignment and this also can pinch nerves. Physical therapy and aqua therapy are aimed at this.
Basically start with simple treatments (medication and physical therapy) first, and if this doesn't result in improvement, then advance to more testing and/or more complex therapies.
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