Bone spur surgery is the only way to remove a bone spur — a skeletal growth that develops on top of normal bone as the body’s response to bone-on-bone contact within the joints. Bone spurs themselves are typically asymptomatic. However, when a bone spur in the spine comes into contact with a nerve root or even the spinal cord itself, a number of painful symptoms can develop, including numbness or tingling in the extremities, muscle weakness and localized or radiating pain.

Learn about spinal bone spur surgery

If you have undergone several weeks or months of nonsurgical treatment but have not found lasting relief from your symptoms, you may be advised to consider bone spur surgery. Understandably, this may cause some anxiety. However, educating yourself on your condition and the surgery used to treat it can be a great way to relieve some of that initial anxiety and prepare for your next appointment. Here are four things you should know about spinal bone spur surgery:

1. Bone spur surgery is typically only recommended when all other treatment options have been exhausted.
2. Bone spur surgery aims to treat the actual bone spur itself rather than managing the symptoms, which is the goal of conservative and alternative methods of treatment.
3. In addition to a bone spur excision, there are several other procedures that may be used to treat a bone spur.
4. The specific surgery recommended to a patient will depend on several individual factors including the location of their bone spur as well as their overall health.

Bone spur surgery at USA Spine Care

While many patients who need surgery to treat their bone spur will choose to have traditional open spine surgery, an alternative is available at USA Spine Care. Our orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons perform thousands of minimally invasive spine surgeries each year, setting us apart as the leader in minimally invasive spine surgery.

To learn about the benefits our procedures offer over traditional open spine surgery, or to find out if you are a candidate for our procedures, contact USA Spine Care today.