1.What is the nature of osteophytes? The essence of osteophytes is a kind of “aging” phenomenon of human bones, which is a normal physiological phenomenon. As people age, the muscles and ligaments around the spine and joints undergo degenerative changes, which destroys the equilibrium of the spine and joints, resulting in instability of the spine and joints. In order to adapt to these changes and restore the new state of balance, the organism will increase the surface area of the bones by means of osteophytes, reducing the pressure per unit area of the bones and making the spine or joints more stable. It can be said that the phenomenon of osteophytes is a self-protection mechanism of the organism, an instinct of the organism. It is only when osteophytes cause pain, swelling, limb dysfunction and other symptoms, which make people feel “uncomfortable”, that people regard osteophytes as a disease. 2.What is the connection between osteophytes and clinical symptoms? The vast majority of patients with osteophytes do not have clinical manifestations, and the patients only find out the existence of osteophytes by chance during physical examination or consultation. There are a lot of patients with neck, waist and knee pain, although there are different degrees of osteophytes, but after massage, physiotherapy, medication and other treatments, the pain is basically eliminated, and the phenomenon of “osteophytes” has not been significantly improved, which fully demonstrates that osteophytes are not the real cause of neck, waist and knee pain. Of course, some of the osteophytes are special, may be on the surrounding soft tissues, nerves, blood vessels and other compression and stimulation and the corresponding symptoms, which can not be ignored and need treatment. Cervical spondylolisthesis oppression of nerve roots manifested as radiculopathy, compression of vertebral artery manifested as vertebral artery-type cervical spondylosis, compression of sympathetic nerves manifested as sympathetic cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis compression of lumbar nerves to appear lumbar pain or radiating pain in the lower limbs manifested as lumbar spondylolisthesis arthritis. 3, osteophytes will be unlimited development? Although the phenomenon of osteophytes increases with age, but, specific to each person, the degree of osteophytes is limited, will not be unlimited development. We know that osteophytes are a self-protective mechanism for the organism to restore a new equilibrium. When the new balance is established and the spine or joints are restored to a stable state, osteophytes will naturally stop. 4. How to treat osteophytes? Since osteophytes are a normal physiological phenomenon of the human body and a self-protection mechanism of the human body, there is no need to deliberately treat osteophytes if there is no obvious discomfort. For patients whose osteophytes involve nerves and blood vessels, or cause damage to the joints, resulting in clinical symptoms such as pain, swelling, and joint dysfunction, we can target the cause of the disease and treat the symptoms. In other words, we only treat the clinical symptoms caused by osteophytes, not the osteophytes themselves. Nowadays, there are many “charlatan doctors” in the society, who claim that they have “ancestral secret recipe” and can remove bone spurs, and some drug advertisements claim that they can “dissolve” bone spurs, which is nonsense. I do not know that the composition of bone spurs and bone composition is the same, melt away the bone spurs will also melt away the bone, people without bone can not stand and walk it? There is only one purpose, which is to cheat money. Modern medical research has proved that there is no effective way to remove bone spurs, and what doctors and patients can do is to alleviate the symptoms and resume normal work, study and life.