Lumbar spinal stenosis is the most common reason for spinal surgery in Denmark. Lumbar spinal stenosis is a clinical syndrome of pain in the buttocks or lower extremities, with or without back pain. It is associated with reduced space available for the neural and vascular elements of the lumbar spine. The condition is often exacerbated by standing, walking or lumbar extension and relieved by forward flexion. The options for non-surgical management include drugs and physiotherapy. Treatment outcomes seem to be better for surgical neural decompression than for non-operative treatment.