Can Spinal Stenosis Affect Balance and Walking?

Falls Prevention Awareness Week, observed September 21–25, 2026, is an important reminder that preventing falls involves more than simply watching where you step. Strength, balance, vision, medications, your surroundings and underlying health conditions can all play a role in fall risk.

September is also Pain Awareness Month, making this a good time to consider something people may not always associate with pain: pain can change the way you move. For someone living with persistent back pain or a spine condition such as spinal stenosis, changes in walking, leg strength, sensation or balance may happen gradually. Recognizing those changes and understanding what may be causing them can be an important part of staying active, mobile and independent.

Can Spinal Stenosis Affect Your Balance?

Yes. Spinal stenosis can affect walking and balance in some people, although symptoms depend on where the narrowing occurs and which nerves or areas of the spinal cord are affected. Spinal stenosis develops when narrowing within the spinal canal begins to crowd the nerves or spinal cord. It most often develops in the neck or lower back. When the lower back is affected, patients may notice back or leg discomfort, weakness, numbness or cramping that becomes more noticeable with standing and walking. Some people find that sitting or leaning forward provides relief. Stenosis in the neck can affect the nerves or spinal cord and may cause weakness, numbness, coordination changes or difficulty walking steadily. Having spinal stenosis does not mean that you will fall. Falls are usually influenced by several factors rather than one diagnosis alone.

How Back Pain Can Change the Way You Move

When something hurts, your body naturally tries to protect itself. You may begin walking more slowly, shorten your stride, shift your weight, avoid stairs or limit activities that make your symptoms worse. If pain causes you to become less active over time, strength, endurance and flexibility may also decline. Those adjustments can happen so gradually that they begin to feel normal.

The CDC identifies lower-body weakness and difficulties with walking and balance among factors that can contribute to falls in older adults. Certain medications, vision problems, foot pain or poor footwear, and hazards around the home can also increase risk. Most falls involve a combination of factors.

Pay attention if you begin noticing:

• Walking shorter distances because of back or leg symptoms
• Needing to sit or rest more often
• Increasing unsteadiness
• Holding onto walls, furniture or railings more frequently
• Avoiding stairs or activities you once did comfortably
• New or worsening weakness, numbness or tingling
• Becoming less active because of pain or concerns about balance

If these changes are becoming part of everyday life, an evaluation can help identify what may be contributing to them. New bowel or bladder changes, rapidly worsening weakness or other significant neurological symptoms should receive prompt medical attention.

Steps You Can Take to Help Prevent Falls

There is no single step that prevents every fall. Staying physically active, maintaining leg strength and balance, addressing hazards around the home and keeping up with vision care can all help. It is also important to review medications with a healthcare professional, particularly if they cause dizziness or drowsiness. Physical therapy may also be appropriate when weakness, gait or balance are affecting everyday mobility.

At 360 Orthopedics, physical and occupational therapy are available alongside orthopedic and pain management care, giving patients access to a broader team when strength, mobility, rehabilitation and everyday function need to be addressed.

Advanced Pain Management With Douglas Constant, MD

When back or leg symptoms may be related to a spine condition, determining the source of the problem is an important first step. At 360 Orthopedics, Douglas Constant, MD, specializes in interventional treatment of neck and spine conditions.

Dr. Constant is board-certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy before earning his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he was selected by his peers and faculty to serve as Chief Resident, followed by a pain medicine fellowship at Harvard Medical School. His expertise includes spinal injections, radiofrequency ablation and advanced minimally invasive procedures for appropriately selected patients with spinal stenosis. He also performs procedures such as spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, Intracept and kyphoplasty for vertebral compression fractures. Not every patient needs an injection or procedure. The right treatment depends on the diagnosis, symptoms, medical history, previous treatments and the individual patient’s goals.

Nearly Nine Years of Working Side by Side

One of the strengths of Dr. Constant’s practice is his long-standing partnership with Memory Smith, NP. Dr. Constant and Memory have worked closely together for nearly nine years. During that time, they have developed the kind of rapport that comes from years of evaluating patients, discussing treatment options and coordinating follow-up care together. For patients, that continuity matters.

Memory specializes in orthopedic medicine, pain management and musculoskeletal health. She helps evaluate patients, develop treatment plans and care for people managing chronic pain and orthopedic conditions. After nearly nine years as a team, Dr. Constant and Memory understand how each other approaches patient care. Their long-standing partnership supports close communication, continuity of care and a more coordinated experience from one visit to the next.

Patients have noticed their teamwork, too.

“Dr. Constant, Memory Smith and the rest of his staff are the best of the best.”
— Linda L., 360 Orthopedics patient

Linda shared the review while describing her experience seeking care for debilitating back pain and specifically recognized Dr. Constant, Memory and their team together. The testimonial is currently published on 360 Orthopedics’ patient reviews page.

An Award-Winning Pain Management Team

Dr. Constant and Memory are part of a larger interventional pain management team at 360 Orthopedics that also includes Ashot Kotcharian, MD, and Justin Raye, DO. In 2025, 360 Orthopedics was named the Sarasota Community’s Choice Awards winner in the Pain Management Clinic category. Dr. Constant, Dr. Kotcharian and Dr. Raye were also each named SRQ Magazine Top Doctors in 2025 and 2026.

Dr. Constant has earned additional national recognition through Castle Connolly Top Doctors. His honors span 2015 through 2024, representing a decade of Castle Connolly Top Doctor recognition, and he is included as a Top Doctor in Pain Medicine in Sarasota Magazine’s 2026 Castle Connolly directory.

Each physician brings a different background and area of expertise to the team.

Dr. Kotcharian is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and completed both his residency and an interventional spine and sports medicine fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining 360 Orthopedics, he served as an Assistant Professor and Assistant Fellowship Director at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Raye is also board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He graduated in the top 10% of his medical school class, served as Chief Resident during his residency at the University of Minnesota and completed an interventional pain management fellowship.

Together, Dr. Constant, Dr. Kotcharian and Dr. Raye give patients access to a highly trained team focused on spine, musculoskeletal and interventional pain care.

Comprehensive Orthopedic and Pain Management Care Close to Home

Pain does not always fit neatly into one specialty. Someone with back pain may benefit from pain management. Another patient may need physical therapy, an orthopedic spine evaluation, diagnostic imaging or a combination of services. That is one advantage of receiving care through 360 Orthopedics. Patients have access to pain management, orthopedic specialists, physical and occupational therapy, imaging and other musculoskeletal services within the same practice.

360 Orthopedics has locations in Sarasota, Venice and Lakewood Ranch, serving patients throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties, including those traveling from Parrish and surrounding communities. The practice currently lists offices at 5741 Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota, 5504 Pinebrook Road in Venice and 5985 Silver Falls Run in Lakewood Ranch.

With three interventional pain physicians and a broader orthopedic and rehabilitation team, patients can be connected with the physician, service and location that best fits their individual needs.

Keep Moving With Confidence

Falls Prevention Awareness Week is a reminder to pay attention to changes in strength, balance and mobility before they become a bigger problem. If back pain or spinal stenosis is beginning to change how far you can walk, how steady you feel or what you are comfortable doing, you do not have to simply adjust your life around those changes. The first step is understanding why they are happening.

At 360 Orthopedics, our pain management, orthopedic and rehabilitation teams work together to help patients find an appropriate path forward and keep doing the things that matter most to them.

To schedule an appointment with 360 Orthopedics, call 941-951-2663.

References

National Council on Aging — Falls Prevention Awareness Week
NCOA Falls Prevention Awareness Week resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Older Adult Fall Prevention
CDC Older Adult Fall Prevention

Mayo Clinic — Spinal Stenosis: Symptoms and Causes
Mayo Clinic Spinal Stenosis