What Causes a Bone Spur in the Neck?

Neck, or cervical, bone spurs are created when the body is attempting to heal itself. Because of this fact, bone spurs are sometimes indicative of other diseases and conditions. Other times they are just part of the aging process.Bone spurs in the neck are usually never discovered without an x-ray. They sometimes cause pain by pressing on nerves, discs, surrounding tissue or the spinal cord, but otherwise often do not even create any symptoms to signal their existence.While they do sometimes occur without any obvious cause, they often signal the presence of disease.

Osteoarthritis

• Osteoarthritis is a main cause of neck bone spurs. The cartilage in the joints breaks down in sufferers of osteoarthritis. If this occurs in the neck, bone spurs will grow in an effort to repair the cartilage loss. Individuals more commonly experience osteoarthritis over the age of 40. Osteoarthritis is also caused by inactivity, overactivity, excess body weight and heredity.

Aging

• Bone spurs on the neck regularly form simply as a result of the aging process. The rate at which individuals are susceptible to these neck bone spurs increases as they grow older. Aging is a contributing factor for many reasons, but primarily because of the way that the body processes nutrients and is more prone to injuries.

DISH

• Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a common cause of bone spurs on the neck. This condition creates bony growths that are found on the spinal cord in the neck area. This condition is a form of degenerative arthritis. DISH is also known as Forestier's disease.

Spinal Stenosis

• Spinal stenosis, which has also been called "creeping paralysis," is a condition where the spinal cord area becomes increasingly narrowed. Through this process, neck bone spurs sometimes develop because stenosis of the spine often occurs in the cervical region. Spinal stenosis is associated with aging.

Disc and Joint Degeneration

• Disc and joint degeneration that has occurred naturally or as the result of an accident is also a major cause of bone spurs in the neck. This is another example of the neck bone spur growth occurring because the body senses that there is a problem and responds by growing more bone in an effort to heal itself. Many suffer from disc and joint problems after automobile accidents.