What Are Bone Spurs?

Bone spurs are excess bone placed at an area of great wear and tear or an area where tendons are constantly pulling on their attachment/insertion points. They are most commonly formed where two bones meet, known as joints. Bone spurs may cause pain and stiffness if they rub against other bones or press on nerves. 

They can appear in many different places of the body: feet, neck, hips, spine, hands, shoulders, knees, etc. 

Causes of Bone Spurs

Bone spurs are most commonly caused by joint damage from overuse: osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus. Additionally, injuries take a toll in the adaptation of bone spurs. When your body believes your bone is damaged, it tries to add bone to the injured area to fix it. 

Additional causes of bone spurs may include genetics, obesity, and age.

Symptoms of Bone Spurs

Typically, bone spurs only cause pain when they press on nerves, bones, or tendons. In such instances, you may experience pain, stiffness, lessened mobility, numbness or tingling, muscle spasms, and cramps. 

When you move or exercise the affected area of the bone spur, the symptoms may worsen. 

Diagnosis of Bone Spurs

Bone spurs can be found through X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. There may be cases where you don’t even know you have a bone spur until imaging takes place. 

Treatment of Bone Spurs

Midwest Pain Solutions can help lessen the swelling and relieve the pain of bone spurs through our pioneered high-intensity laser therapy. 

High-intensity laser therapy (HILT) is a painless treatment that can stimulate healing in areas of deep pain and damage. Each treatment plan is customized to a patient’s specific needs.

To learn more about Midwest Pain Solutions, our therapies, and our patients’ results, visit midwestpainsolutions.com or call (920) 569-2350.