Bone Spurs - Osteophytes - HealthSurgeon - Healthy Living and Fitness

Bone spurs are bony growths of extra bone. They form along the bone edges or in joints where two bones meet. In some cases bone spurs can also form on the spine. Bone spurs are also called osteophytes. They can affect anyone but are more common in people who are 60 years old and older.

The most common places for bone spurs to occur are in the hands, shoulders, neck, spine, hips, knees, and feet.

Causes

One of the main causes of bone spurs is osteoarthritis. Other conditions that can cause bone spurs are degenerative joint disease, spinal stenosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and gout. Injury to the joints or tendons, such as tendonitis, can also result in bone spurs. Other causes are overuse of the joint, genes, diet, or obesity.

Symptoms

You may not even know you have a bone spur. In some cases they cause no symptoms or pain. Problems from bone spurs occur when the bone spur presses on a nerve, it starts to restrict movement, or it presses on another body structure such as a tendon, bone, or ligament. Once these start to happen most people start to have pain in the affected joint. Pain or stiffness may occur when you are moving the joint. You may also suffer from a reduced range of motion. Weakness, numbness, or tingling can happen in the arms and legs when certain nerves in the spine are pressed against by a bone spur. Bone spurs on the spine can also cause you to have trouble controlling your bladder or bowels when certain nerves are pressed against. Muscle spasms, muscle cramps, and muscle weakness can also be a sign of bone spurs. Bumps under the skin, this is most common in bone spurs in the hands. Tendonitis can occur from a bone spur and so can tendon tears.

Diagnosis

If you have no symptoms your doctor may discover you have a bone spur by doing an X-ray or another test for another condition that is causing you trouble. If you start to suffer from pain, stiffness, or loss of range of motion is when you should seek medical help to diagnose your bone spur. Your primary care physician can usually diagnose a bone spur.

After the diagnosis you may be referred to another doctor for further care and treatment. Your doctor may refer you to a rheumatologist who is a joint specialist, or an orthopedic doctor who specializes in the musculoskeletal system. The main way for your doctor to find bone spurs is from an X-ray. An X-ray can show if you have arthritis in any of your joints, as well as if there are any bone spurs that have grown. After the initial X-ray your doctor may want you to have a CT scan or an MRI done. These two imaging tests can be done to help identify if there is any damage to any ligaments or tendons from the bone spur.

Treatment

If you have no symptoms, you don’t need any treatment. Once you start experiencing pain, stiffness, or loss of motion is when treatments start to be needed.

There are some home remedies you can do.

Ice and rest of the joint can help with pain or swelling that is being caused from the bone spur.
Over the counter pain medications can help alleviate pain. If you are taking over the counter pain medications for a month and are seeing no difference in your pain, you will want to talk to your doctor about other options. Long term use of over the counter pain medications can cause damage to your body.
Making sure you are wearing supportive footwear during your day can also help manage pain.
Losing weight can also take extra work off of your joints.

If these at home remedies don’t work you may need other forms of treatment depending on the severity of your bone spur.

Physical therapy can be an option. This can help you learn certain exercises and stretches which can help heal your tendons and ligaments around the bone spur. It can help strengthen your muscles to better support your body. Physical therapy can also help reduce pain and increase your range of motion.

If your pain doesn’t get relieved with over the counter pain medications, your doctor may put you on a prescription pain medication to help. Another option is a cortisone shot. Cortisone shots can help get rid of pain up to a few weeks, to maybe a few months, and in some cases up to a year.

Surgery is the only way that you can get rid of bone spurs completely. This is usually only done if other treatment options don’t work. Bone spurs don’t normally grow back in the same spot that they were surgically removed from, but they can or they can develop in another joint.

Prevention

There is no way to fully prevent yourself from developing a bone spur. Many people have bone spurs and will go their whole life not knowing they have them. Ways you can help your body to not develop bone spurs is to lose extra weight, and then maintain a healthy body weight. Another one is to wear appropriate footwear. Get shoe inserts or fitted for special shoes if you are on your feet a lot or suffer from bone spurs in your heels. Exercise to keep your bones strong. It is easy to stop being active when you have bone spurs, but it is even more important for you to be active when you have bone spurs. Just avoid activities that aggravate your bone spur. Look for low impact sports that are easy on your joints and bones. Make sure your diet is full of calcium and vitamin D to support good bone health.