Give Osteophytes the One Two Punch!
Physical Therapy for Bone Spurs
Feeling Bad About Bone Spurs? PT Can Help!
Have you been experiencing pain in your joints or tendons, loss of joint flexibility, numbness or weakness in the legs or arms? Your symptoms may be caused by bone spurs, known as osteophytes, that develop over long periods of time usually in or near joints. Though the name suggests a ragged or sharp outgrowth of bone, bone spurs are usually smooth and depending on their location may or may not cause symptoms. If you suspect you may have a bone spur or have been told by your doctor that you do, this article will help you better understand where they come from and how physical therapy can help treat your symptoms.
WHAT CAUSES BONE SPURS?
Bone spurs are most common in adults over the age of sixty and usually grow in areas where osteoarthritis–breakdown of the cartilage from wear and tear–has formed in a joint. Other conditions such as Ankylosing Spondylitis which affects the spine can also put someone at risk for bone spur formation. Bone spurs can grow from any bone but are most common in the foot (especially the heel, big toe and ankle), the hands and fingers, hips, neck and spine, knees and shoulders.
The body most commonly develops bone spurs in an attempt to repair or address an injury. It does so by producing excess bone where there has been trauma to the joint, repeated tendonitis, breakdown of the cartilage or repeated overuse of a joint. Does anyone else in your family have bone spurs? Research suggests it may also have a genetic cause.
WHAT ARE SYMPTOMS OF A BONE SPUR?
Most bone spurs are asymptomatic if they are not in a place to rub or irritate any other tissues. In this case you may not even know you have them unless they are identified on imaging such as an X-ray. In some cases, however, bone spurs can cause pain and loss of joint flexibility if their location restricts joint movement or causes rubbing on soft tissue structures such as tendons or ligaments.
Bone spurs in the heel can be especially painful secondary to the pressure you put on your foot each time you walk. Bony nodules, stiffness and pain may be noticeable when bone spurs develop in the hands or fingers whereas pain and loss of flexibility is more common in joints like the hip and knee. Bone spur formation in the spine can be especially bothersome if its location causes a narrowing of the spinal canal where your spinal cord travels or of the space where the nerve roots exit. In this case the pressure on the delicate nerves of the spinal cord or nerve roots can cause radiating pain, weakness, numbness or tingling in the arms or legs.
CAN PHYSICAL THERAPY TREAT MY BONE SPURS?
It is important to understand that not all bone spurs require treatment. If you are experiencing pain or discomfort in a particular area and imaging reveals there is a bone spur nearby, a physical therapist can help determine the impact that the bone spur has on your symptoms. Pain, weakness, loss of flexibility, swelling and discomfort can all have multifactorial causes and the presence of a bone spur may play a large role, a small role or no role at all in those symptoms.
Reduce Pain and Swelling: Your physical therapist can provide treatment to manage pain and inflammation. Modalities such as heat and ice, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation may be applied to improve these symptoms. Hands-on treatments such as gentle soft tissue mobilization may also be used to improve the mobility of the tissues surrounding the bone spur. In some cases, special orthotics or shoe inserts may be recommended to reduce pain and irritation from bone spurs in the foot or toe.
Improve Joint Motion: Improving motion of the involved joint and the tissues that surround it can improve both pain and function. A program of stretching and mobility exercises can help to improve the flexibility of a joint so you can more easily and comfortably perform your daily activities. Your PT may also gently mobilize the involved joints to help restore motion.
Improve Quality of Movement: Improving the quality of movement around an area with a bone spur can help reduce excessive stress across the joint and may reduce the irritation and rubbing of a bone spur on surrounding tissues. Also, as mentioned above, the presence of a bone spur may be only one factor causing your pain or discomfort so treating muscle strength and neuromuscular control issues around the involved area is also very important to ensure all contributing factors are addressed.
While in some cases surgery may be necessary to remove bone spurs, a physical therapist at Evolve can help you to reduce pain and swelling, improve your joint mobility and optimize your movement patterns. You may be wondering how you can continue with your favorite activities when you are dealing with a bone spur, but remember, bone spurs are often only one factor that can be targeted to improve your symptoms. Your physical therapist can advise you on how to modify your activities when needed and develop a program to help you to get back to your normal routines whenever possible while preventing recurrence of these symptoms in the future.
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About EvolveNY-
Brooklyn's Premier Holistic Physical Therapy Clinics-
There’s physical therapy, there’s training, and then there’s EVOLVE. We use the science of biomechanics merged with fitness to help our patients get better and stay better! First we evaluate, then we heal, then we strengthen our clients so they can reach their goals, feel better, and live happier lives. We do so by utilizing a range of core techniques and specialized treatments to reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance physical strength and deal with the underlying issues, not just the pain itself.
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