About Bone Spurs
Learn about the disease, illness and/or condition Bone Spurs including: symptoms, causes, treatments, contraindications and conditions at ClusterMed.info.
Bone Spurs
Bone Spurs |
---|
Bone Spurs InformationBone spur facts
How are bone spurs diagnosed?Bone spurs are detected by radiologic testing, such as with plain X-rays, ultrasound imaging, MRI scan, CT scan, and myelograms. Is it possible to prevent bone spurs?There are no means of preventing bone spurs. What are symptoms of bone spurs?Bone spurs may or may not cause symptoms. When they do cause symptoms, the symptoms depend on their location. Bone spurs can be associated with pain, numbness, and tenderness if they are irritating adjacent tissues, such as skin, fat pads, nerves, or tendons.Heel spurs cause local foot pain, tenderness, and sometimes swelling. This can lead to difficulty walking due to pain at the bottom of the foot with weight-bearing. Sometimes there is accompanying inflammation of the entire bottom of the foot (plantar fasciitis) when the heel spur occurs in the bottom of the heel bone. Occasionally, bone spurs in this location are a result of inflammatory arthritis, such as from reactive arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH or Forrestier's disease).Spurs in the spine can pinch adjacent nerves to cause numbness, tingling, and pain as well as weakness in the area of the body supplied by the affected nerve.Some bone spurs do not cause symptoms and are incidentally detected by X-ray tests that are performed for other reasons. These spurs may have formed because of past injury to nearby tissues, such as tendons, that caused local inflammation of the bone, leading to the development of the bone spur. What causes bone spurs?Bone spurs are usually caused by local inflammation, such as from degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) or tendinitis. This inflammation stimulates the cells that form bone to deposit bone in this area, eventually leading to a bony prominence or spur. For example, inflammation of the ligament that surrounds a degenerating disc between the vertebrae (the bony building blocks of the spine) is a very common cause of bone spurs of the spine. Inflammation of the Achilles tendon can lead to the formation of a bone spur at the back of the heel bone (calcaneus bone). Inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of the foot, plantar fasciitis, can lead to a bone spur at the underside of the heel bone. These bone spurs are sometimes referred to as heel spurs. A bone spur is medically referred to as an osteophyte. Rarely, bone spurs may occur as a result of congenital conditions. An osteochondroma is one type of these congenital spurs. What is a bone spur?A bone spur is a tiny pointed outgrowth of bone. What is the prognosis (outlook) for bone spurs?Bone spurs that are not associated with symptoms may never cause problems and do not require treatment. The outlook for bone spurs causing symptoms varies. Bone spurs can cause mild symptoms or be severely disabling, especially if they are directly irritating nerves. What is the treatment for bone spurs?Bone spurs are treated only if they are causing symptoms. Initial treatment is directed toward decreasing inflammation and avoiding reinjury when possible. Local cold application can help when the location of the bone spur is accessible. Anti-inflammatory medications, administered both orally and by local injection (Kenalog, Depomedrol, Celestone), are commonly used, depending on the location of the spur. Local mechanical measures, such as orthotics, or shoe inserts, and local bone spur pads might be considered, depending on the location of the bone spur. Bone spurs that are causing irritation of nerves, tendons or ligaments and that are resistant to conservative measures can require surgical operations for treatment. Where do bone spurs occur?Bone spurs develop in areas of inflammation or injury in nearby cartilage or tendons. Common locations for bone spurs are in the back, or sole, of the heel bone of the foot, around joints that have degenerated cartilage, and in the spine adjacent to degenerated discs. Congenital types (osteochondromas) commonly occur around the growth areas of the shoulder and knee. |
More Diseases
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Diseases & Illnesses Definitions Of The Day
- Conization, Cervix (Colposcopy) ‐ Acetic acid wash for colposcopy, Based on the colposcopy results …
- Pneumonic Plague (Plague Facts) ‐ Could plague be used as a biological weapon?, How do physicians diagnose plague? …
- Bleeding in the Eye (Subconjunctival Hemorrhage) ‐ Are there home remedies for a subconjunctival hemorrhage?, How do health care professionals diagnose a subconjunctival hemorrhage? …
- Implants, Endometrial (Endometriosis) ‐ Can endometriosis be prevented?, Can surgery cure endometriosis? …
- Rectal Polyps (Colon Polyps) ‐ Are the size of colon polyps related to cancer risk?, Can colon polyps be prevented? …
- Apophysitis Calcaneus (Sever Condition) ‐ How is Sever condition diagnosed?, What are signs and symptoms of Sever condition? …
- Erythema Infectiosum (Fifth Disease) ‐ Are there other symptoms that can occur with fifth disease?, Fifth disease facts …
- Rehabilitation for Broken Back (Spinal Cord Injury: Treatments and Rehabilitation) ‐ How Does a Spinal Cord Injury Affect the Rest of the Body?, How Does Rehabilitation Help People Recover From Spinal Cord Injuries? …
- Infant Hydrocele (Hydrocele (Pediatric, Testicular)) ‐ Communicating hydroceles, How are hydroceles diagnosed?, Hydrocele facts …
- Chronic Hepatitis B (Hepatitis B) ‐ Hepatitis B facts, How is hepatitis B diagnosed?, How is the hepatitis B virus spread (transmitted)? …