Bone spurs (also called osteophytes) are small bony growths on the edges of your bones usually around joints. They take years to develop so rarely are they found in young people. Most bone spurs are not directly harmful, however the few that are may require surgery. In the worst cases, a bone spur is causing damage to surrounding tissue or interfering with movement and must be surgically removed. Rarely is this an acute condition; it takes a long time for the body to grow bone, so spurs are often seen in arthritic and chronic pain patients. Eventually however, if the spur gets big enough to start causing problems, the patient begins to suffer. With such slow growth, there are generally no symptoms of a bone spur until it’s too late, making early detection difficult.
Osteophytes most commonly removed by surgery are in the heels of the feet (heel spurs) and perhaps the shoulders. Fortunately, most all bone spurs are harmless, however should still be investigated as they are evidence of an arthritic/degenerative process. Bone spurs are found with x-ray and large ones should be monitored every few years to check for growth. If you have bone spurs on any of your x-rays or are facing surgery for a bone spur removal, you now have an option that’s a non-drug, non-surgical approach. Regenerative medicine is showing great promise for help with bone spurs.
In many cases, allograft injections help reduce the size and sometimes completely remove bone spurs. Perhaps the most dramatic effects are seen with shoulders, knees and hips, however patients with spurs in their elbows, wrists, ankles, feet and hands also greatly benefit. Patients with heel spurs should seriously consider regenerative medicine before having surgery. At Solutions, we have seen terrific results with bone spurs using regenerative medicine. If you suffer from spurs on your joints, come see us! An evaluation will help us determine if/how regenerative medicine can help you.
