Bone Spurs

Bone spurs are bony projections that develop along the edges of bones. The bone spurs themselves aren't painful, but they can rub against nearby nerves and bones, causing pain.

Bone spurs, also called osteophytes, can form on any bone. They often form where bones meet each other in your joints. But, they can also be found where ligaments and tendons connect with bone. Bone spurs can also form on the bones of your spine.

Most bone spurs cause no symptoms and may go undetected for years. What treatment, if any, that you receive for your bone spurs depends on where they're located and how they affect your health.

What Causes Bone Spurs?
A bone spur forms as the body tries to repair itself by building extra bone. It generally forms in response to pressure, rubbing, or stress that continues over a long period of time.

Some bone spurs form as part of the aging process. As we age, the slippery tissue called cartilage that covers the ends of the bones within joints breaks down and eventually wears away (osteoarthritis). In addition, the discs that provide cushioning between the bones of the spine may break down with age. Over time, this leads to pain and swelling and, in some cases, bone spurs forming along the edges of the joint. Bone spurs due to aging are especially common in the joints of the spine and feet.

Bone spurs also form in the feet in response to tight ligaments, to activities such as dancing and running that put stress on the feet, and to pressure from being overweight or from poorly fitting shoes. For example, the long ligament on the bottom of the foot (plantar fascia) can become stressed or tight and pull on the heel, causing the ligament to become inflamed (plantar fasciitis). As the bone tries to mend itself, a bone spur can form on the bottom of the heel (known as a "heel spur"). Pressure at the back of the heel from frequently wearing shoes that are too tight can cause a bone spur on the back of the heel. This is sometimes called a "pump bump" because it is often seen in women who wear high heels.

Another common site for bone spurs is the shoulder. Your shoulder joint is able to move in a number of directions due to its complex structure. Over time, the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments that make up your shoulder can wear against one another. The muscles that allow you to lift and rotate your arm (called the rotator cuff) start at your shoulder blade and are attached to your upper arm with tendons. As these tendons move through the narrow space between the top of your shoulder and your upper arm, they can rub on the bones. Bone spurs can form in this narrow area that, in turn, pinch the rotator cuff tendons, resulting in irritation, inflammation, stiffness, weakness, pain, and sometimes tearing of the tendon. This condition, rotator cuff disorder, commonly occurs with age and/or repetitive use of the shoulder. It is also common in athletes, especially baseball players, and in people such as painters who frequently work with their arms above their heads.

Symptoms
Most bone spurs cause no signs or symptoms. Often you don't even realize you have bone spurs until an X-ray for another condition reveals the growths.

But some bone spurs can cause : -
Pain in your joints
Loss of motion in your joints

Symptoms of Bone Spurs
Depending Upon The Part Affected, Here Are Various Bone Spur Symptoms : -
Knee
When it occurs in the knee, there could be difficulty in bending and extending your leg. This is because these bone spurs come in between the tendons and bones which inhibit the smooth movement of knees. Knee bone spurs fall in the category of overall feet bone spurs.

Spine
Bone spurs can push against the nerves or even the spinal cord. That can lead to numbness and pain in a particular part of the body controlled by that nerve center. So numbness and pain could be a possibility, when it comes to bone spur symptoms.

Neck
Bone spur symptoms in the neck can make things really difficult. The symptoms of bone spur in the neck include difficulty in swallowing and breathing. This could be in the case, when a cervical bone spur protrudes inward.

Fingers
If you feel hard lumps under your skin on fingers, it could be a symptom of a bone spur. These lumps also make the fingers disfigured along with intermittent pain.

Shoulders
Bone spur symptoms include an experience of restricted range of the shoulder movements. This is because the rotor cuff, a tendon group responsible for the shoulder movements, can be rubbed upon by the bone spurs. Tendonitis in your rotator cuff could also be a symptom of bone spur.

When To See A Doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you have pain or swelling in one or more joints, or if you have difficulty moving a joint. If you have an underlying health condition, early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent or slow further joint damage.

Where do bone spurs occur?
Bone spurs develop in areas of inflammation or injury in nearby cartilage or tendons. Common locations for bone spurs are in the back, or sole, of the heel bone of the foot, around joints that have degenerated cartilage, and in the spine adjacent to degenerated discs.

Complication
Bone spurs can break off from the larger bone, becoming what doctors call loose bodies. Often bone spurs that have become loose bodies will float in your joint or become embedded in the lining of the joint (synovium).

Loose bodies can drift into the areas in between the bones that make up your joint, getting in the way and causing intermittent locking a sensation that something is preventing you from moving your joint. This joint locking can come and go as the loose bodies move into and out of the way of your joint.

Treatments And Drugs
There's no specific treatment for bone spurs.
If your bone spurs don't cause you any pain or if they don't limit any range of motion in your joints, then you likely won't need treatment. If you need treatment, it's typically directed at the underlying problem to prevent further joint damage.

Medications
If your bone spurs are causing pain, your doctor may recommend over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to ease the pain.

Surgery
Bone spurs that limit your range of motion or cause other problems that limit your ability to go about your day may require surgery. What surgical options you have will depend on where your bone spurs are located and your particular situation. For instance, bone spurs are often removed as part of a more comprehensive surgery for arthritis. If you have arthritis in your elbow, for example, your surgeon may remove bone spurs when he or she is making other repairs to your elbow.

Surgery to remove bone spurs can be done in an open procedure, meaning the surgeon cuts open the skin around your joint to gain access to your joint. Or bone spur removal may be done arthroscopically, meaning the surgeon makes several small incisions to insert special surgical tools. During arthroscopic surgery, your surgeon uses a tiny camera to see inside your joint.


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