A bone spur is a bony growth formed on normal bone. In medical language, it is termed as osteophyte. A bone spur is an extra bone and can cause symptoms due to pressure on adjacent tissues.
Spurs can be commonly found in
- Spine
- Shoulder
- Hand
- Hip
- Knee
- Foot.
How Does A Spur Form?
A bone spur is response by the body to some sort of external stimulus. This repair response may lead to formation of extra bone called spur.
The stimulus can be due to
- Pressure from adjacent tissue
- Rubbing or friction
- Pull
- Prolonged stress.
- Aging process
Symptoms
All bone spurs are not symptomatic. many people carry spurs along without ever knowing them. The spur would cause symptom only when it presses on adjacent tissues.
Swelling, pain over the region or radiation to distant site, constant discomfort, stiffness of muscles are few symptoms associated with spurs. Motor weakness or numbness of the nerve region affected may occur.
Diagnosis
A bone spur is usually visible on an X-ray. Most of them are however investigated only when they cause symptoms or they might be an incidental finding on an xray done for some other reason.
Treatment of Bone Spurs
As most of the bone spurs or osteophytes are asymptomatic, most of them do not require he treatment.
The treatment should be restricted only to those which are symptomatic.
An ideal treatment should address the cause that led to bone spurs, treat the symptoms caused by bone spurs and if needed [rarely] removal of bone spurs.
Following measures are generally applied in treatment of bone spurs or osteophytes. The treatment needs to be individualized and all the mesures may not be applicable in one patient.
- Weight loss (especially when osteoarthritis or plantar fasciitis is the cause)
- Stretching exercises of affected are
- Ultrasound or deep tissue massage
- Rest
- Ice compression
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Patient education
- Orthotic braces/padding/footwear modification
- Corticosteroid injection
- Surgical removal of spurs
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Tags: arthritic, bone, bony, causes of bone spurs, osteophytes, overgrowths, pain, treatment of bone spurs
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