Elderly people often face the problem of bone spurs, especially in the cervical spine, lumbar spine, knees and ankles. What are bone spurs? Bone spurs are a manifestation of osteophytes. On the Х-ray film, bone protrusions with pointed edges can be seen on the edges of certain bones. These projections are called bone spurs because they are made of bone and resemble thorns. Generally, most patients with bone spurs are over 50 years of age, they are more common in women, especially in obese women than in men, and the affected joints are mostly found in the cervical spine, lumbar spine, knees and ankles. The spine is the most common bone spurs The spine is the place where bone spurs often occur, which is directly related to the physiological role of the spine. Its physiological characteristics are large range of motion, high pressure, and many opportunities for damage. These characteristics determine that the spine is prone to osteophytes. The spine is the load-carrying skeleton in the human body, and long-term excessive pressure prompts degenerative changes in the skeleton, and one of the results of degenerative changes in the skeleton is the appearance of osteophytes. In addition to the spine, the knee joints and soles of the feet are the joints where bone spurs often occur because these parts carry the weight of the entire body. Especially when walking, one foot is lifted and the other foot is on the ground, the weight of the whole body is placed on the foot that is on the ground, and the knee joints and soles of the feet are prone to injury, leading to osteophytes. Cervical bone spurs can compress the nerves, which is a common symptom of cervical spondylosis. Because of the many nerve tissues in the neck, the discomfort can be serious once it occurs. Bone Spurs Occurrence Factors and Symptoms Why do bones grow bone spurs? Bone spurs are directly related to physical overactivity, exercise, and age, among other things. Studies have proven that inappropriate activities or sports cause excessive wear and tear on the bones in the joint area, leading to cartilage injuries and triggering an imbalance in the forces on the joints and the birth of bone spurs. In the same way, long-term, chronic wear and tear of the joints of the elderly, so that the joints of the bone and cartilage in varying degrees of damage, and the repair of the damage is often manifested as bone spurs. The earliest manifestation of bone spur symptoms is joint pain, which may be a persistent dull ache, accompanied by a feeling of soreness and a desire to fall. The affected joints are often stiff, and after sleeping for a night or staying in one position for a long time, such as sitting for a long time and suddenly standing up and moving, there is a feeling of stiffness and pain, which is alleviated after some time of activity. When spinal lesions occur, visible bone spurs and swollen soft tissue irritation and nerve compression, causing low back and leg pain, and even muscle atrophy or limb numbness, impaired mobility. If the bone spur grows on the knee joint, friction and rattling sound can be felt when walking, and sometimes swelling, fluid accumulation, and mobility difficulties may occur. All of the above are symptoms of early attacks, most of which are caused by minor trauma, strain or cold. Of course, clinically, many people never have pain even though they have bone spurs. This is because bone spurs are located at the edge of the vertebral body, and sometimes, although they grow very large and pointy, the pain is not noticeable because they do not damage or irritate the nerves. However, if the bone spur happens to grow on a nerve channel, numbness and pain in the hands and feet will occur. If the bone spur is in the spinal canal and compresses the lumbar spinal cord nerves, serious problems such as weakness of the lower limbs, numbness of sensation, elevated muscle tone, and incontinence will occur. Prevention of bone spurs precautions Appropriate exercise is beneficial to prevent the growth of bone spurs, in order to avoid bone spurs, must protect the spine on weekdays. 1, middle-aged and elderly people should diet, avoid obesity. Because excessive obesity will increase the pressure per unit area, thus increasing the burden on the spine and knee joints, over time, easy to cause osteophytes in the spine and knee joints, generating bone spurs. 2.Prevent joint degeneration, have appropriate activities. Because the nutrition of articular cartilage comes from the joint fluid, and the joint fluid can only enter the cartilage by “squeezing” and promote the metabolism of the cartilage. Appropriate exercise can increase the pressure in the joint cavity, which is conducive to the penetration of joint fluid to the cartilage, reduce the degradation of articular cartilage, prevent bone spurs. 3, the pillow should not be too high. Too high will cause the cervical vertebrae physiological curvature becomes straight, each section of the cervical vertebrae to lose the normal position, at the same time will also make the cervical vertebrae around the ligaments and soft tissues can not be relaxed, resulting in cervical vertebrae compensatory hyperplasia. 4, exercise should be measured, avoid long-term strenuous exercise or overwork. 5, to reduce the joints, cartilage injuries, to avoid ligament and soft tissue tension.