I keep get pain in upper back on left side by neck. i have stenosis in neck, could it be a spasm. was on prednisone for 5 days and it came back.

Cervical stenosis: The symptom you've described could certainly be related to muscle spasm, or it could be a manifestation of nerve compression at the cervical spine. Or it could represent progression of your underlying spinal stenosis. Muscle spasms tend to resolve in time, say a couple of weeks; if your symptom persists beyond this period of time then you'd need an evaluation.