Osteophytes is the medical term for bone spurs, the additional bone growths that your body may create for a number of reasons. Aging, arthritis, disc degeneration, traumatic injury, poor posture, overuse and other factors can cause your body to manufacture these excess bone formations.

Osteophytes can occur in numerous places in the body, but they are common along the spinal column. While they do not necessarily cause problems on their own, bone spurs can cause intense pain and debilitating side effects when they impinge on nerves or other bones, especially when they occur along the spinal column.

For instance, spine bone spurs – which are actually smooth formations despite the word “spur” – can cause severe neck and/or back pain, restricted movement, radiating arm and leg pain, weakness in the extremities, numbness and in some cases disability. If you’ve noticed any of these symptoms and wonder if bone spurs might be to blame, talk to your physician. An X-ray or other scan can determine if bone spurs are impinging on a nerve or other bone and causing you pain or other side effects.

As for bone spur treatment, your options can vary from medications, exercise and physical therapy, to traditional open back surgery. However, USA Spine Care is proud to perform minimally invasive procedures that can rid you of problematic osteophytes and ease the pain they cause. Best of all, our outpatient procedures result in a quicker recovery time, lesser chance of infection and a higher patient satisfaction score than many traditional, invasive methods.

Please contact USA Spine Care today for more information about our state-of-the-art facilities and procedures for osteophytes.

Browse Related Resources