What to Do About Bone Spurs on Your Spine?

Bone spurs on the spine need treatment if they are causing you a limited range of motion. Bone spurs, also referred to as osteophytes, are smooth structures that form over a period of time. They are an enlargement of the normal bony structure. Aging and osteoarthritis, a breakdown of cartilage in your joints, are common reasons for the development of bone spurs on the spine.

Non-Surgical Treatment

• Pain is the most common symptom of bone spurs on the spine. Bone spurs on the spine can also cause nerve compression, nerve irritation and a loss of motion in your joints. Bone spurs on the spine can be treated with medications to ease the discomfort. Your physician may recommend non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to help reduce swelling and to relieve pain. Cortisone shots can reduce pain and joint swelling on a temporary basis. Muscle-relaxing medications can help with pain. Physical therapy can help restore flexibility and increase strength. Rest is another treatment plan to help reduce pressure on the nerves. These treatments are usually combined to help alleviate your symptoms.

Surgical Treatment

• If medications and therapy do not relieve the discomfort and disabling symptoms of bone spurs on the spine, surgery may be indicated.

  A laminectomy is the most common surgery performed for bone spurs on the spine. During the laminectomy procedure, the surgeon removes the root of the vertebrae and the surrounding compressed materials. The laminectomy helps relieve pain and nerve impingement that causes weakness in your extremities, numbness, restricted movements and pain which radiates down the arms and legs. It is an open surgery with general anesthesia and requires an inpatient hospital stay of one to three days.

  A laminotomy is another surgical option that is less invasive and only removes a portion of the vertebrae. This helps maintain the natural support and increases recovery time. The laminotomy is performed as a micro-endoscopic procedure which does not require the patient to undergo general anesthesia and is an outpatient procedure.

  Your surgeon can determine which type of surgical procedure will have the most benefits for the degree and severity of your bone spurs on the spine.

Success

• Surgery is performed to improve the quality of life. According to studies conducted by the International Journal of Medical Sciences, the laminotomy procedure provided patients with the same level of improvement as the open decompression method of the laminectomy. Decrease in pain and an increase in daily function and abilities were as effective as in the open surgical methods.