As we age, the cartilage of the joints gradually degenerates, the elasticity of the cells decreases, and the bones and joints are unknowingly worn down, especially in the neck, waist, knee, and heel where there is a lot of activity, and the damaged joint cartilage is difficult to repair when there are no blood vessels to supply nutrients. At this time, the blood circulation around the articular cartilage is more vigorous, and compensatory cartilage growth occurs. Because sometimes the growths are shaped like lips or beaks of birds, they are called lip-like protrusions or osteophytes. The histological examination of the osteophyte is completely normal tissue without any pathological changes, so it is called senile degenerative joint disease, also known as osteoarthrosis. This is the predecessor of osteophytes. Over time, the proliferated cartilage is calcified again, which is called osteophytes, also called bone spurs. In fact, having a bone spur is not a terrible thing, because it does not necessarily produce symptoms. On the contrary, if a bone spur is pressing on a nearby nerve root or on the spine, there may be symptoms such as stiffness, inability to bend flexibly, pain, redness, swelling, paralysis, joint deformation, and muscle weakness. The human spine is prone to degeneration over a long period of time under repeated use, and because of age, middle-aged and elderly people are more likely to grow bone spurs than young people. However, with the change of life and work patterns, people who have to sit or stand for a long time, maintain the same posture for a long time or have incorrect posture and use a certain joint repeatedly, such as housewives, teachers, financial workers, computer workers, factory workers, etc., may suffer from excessive wear and tear on the bones and soft tissues of the joints due to overuse and improper use. Therefore, bone spurs can happen to everyone. The joints of the human body are also susceptible to lesions over time. Bone warts tend to occur in joints that are more active, and these joints are prone to wear and degeneration due to repeated use over time. The areas of the body that are prone to bone warts include the cervical spine, lumbar spine, knee, heel, fingers and elbow. Bone warts can cause complications such as heel pain, cervicothoracic-lumbar spinal stenosis, and degenerative knee osteoarthritis, which can lead to discomfort and even affect the quality of life of the patient. For minor complications, rest, medication, or physical therapy as recommended by a rehabilitation counselor can be used to relieve symptoms. As long as the local inflammation is eliminated, even if the bone spur is large, it will not cause severe pain and functional limitations. Therefore, for many bone spurs in the knee and shoulder joints, the pain department of Xinhua Hospital can perform nerve block treatment around the bone spur to eliminate local inflammation, repair the nerve and reduce further proliferation of the bone spur, which is one of the more advanced treatments at present. Supplemented with drugs that nourish and lubricate the joints, most of them can slow down the growth of bone spurs, eliminate pain and improve function. Misconceptions about bone spurs Misconception 1, joint swelling and pain is caused by bone spurs “stabbing” Some people look at the text and think that bone spurs are bone ends such as iron nails, bamboo-like objects deeply embedded in the tissue, which is wrong. Only when the bone growth is stimulated for a long time and sterile inflammation is produced around the bone spur, will it cause pain and other symptoms. Misconception 2: The larger the bone spur, the more painful the joint swelling. It is common to see patients who have bone spurs in both knees, but one side of the bone spur is very large, but the pain is very mild or even painless; the other side of the bone spur is small, but the pain is severe. This is because the large spur does not cause aseptic inflammation around the spur, but the small spur does. Therefore, the size of the bone spur is not directly related to the degree of pain. Misconception 3: Exercise more and you won’t grow bone spurs This is only half right. Experiments have shown that long-term overload exercise or labor not only increases the wear and tear on the joint surface, but also produces high stress on the joint, stimulates bone remodeling, accelerates bone spur formation and subchondral bone hardening, and aggravates cartilage degeneration. On the other hand, proper and correct exercise and labor practices can prevent or treat osteoarthritis. Therefore, exercise and labor are a double-edged sword. Misconception 4: Special drugs can eliminate bone spurs Bone spurs are the same as normal bone tissue, and some so-called special drugs that boast of dissolving or eliminating bone spurs are purely false. Although the bone spur can not be eliminated, but the inflammation is able to subside. Once the inflammation is eliminated, the pain is also relieved. Therefore, the key to treating osteophytes is not to eliminate the bone spurs, but to “permanently” eliminate the inflammation caused by the bone spurs. Misconception 5: Surgery is better than conservative treatment Although surgery can remove bone spurs, it should be limited to a very small number of bone spurs that compress nerves, blood vessels, and spinal cord, causing serious dysfunction, and for which conservative treatment is ineffective. Because surgery itself is also a kind of trauma, it can cause sterile inflammation in some patients and even stimulate bone growth faster. In up to 40% of patients, the bone spur will recur after 15 years. Therefore, surgical excision is not necessarily a cure-all. With the current state of medical care, no medication or method other than surgery can remove the bone spur that has been created, so patients should not believe too much in advertising. It should also be noted that not all bone spurs need to be surgically removed, but only when they are pressing on nerves or blood vessels and causing dysfunction.