Many doctors and patients are disgusted by osteophytes: they think he is a major cause of joint pain! This is a great pity! With the development of science, our understanding of him continues to change. Today, here, we turn the case for osteophytes, prove it, and explain its important functions. 1. What is the role of osteophytes for the joints: He is the equivalent of a crutch for the elderly: How to explain it: In the human aging process, the cartilage of the joints wears away, muscle strength decreases, and joint stability decreases. In order to stabilize the joint, our tendons, ligaments and synovial membranes begin to ossify to increase the stability of the joint. This shows up as osteophytes on x-rays. 2. Is osteophytes a meritorious or a traitor: The vast majority of osteophytes are meritorious, they provide joint stability and increase joint strength. It protects important tissues and organs. However, overgrown bone can compress soft tissues such as nerves causing corresponding symptoms. 3.Does osteophytes need surgery: We divide osteophytes into asymptomatic and symptomatic osteophytes. Asymptomatic osteophytes account for more than 80% and symptomatic osteophytes account for less than 20%. After conservative treatment, 90% of symptomatic osteophytes can become asymptomatic; only 10% of symptomatic osteophytes need surgery. Osteomalacia is a secondary change of joint degeneration, which is a normal function of self-defense, compensation, regeneration, repair and reconstruction of the human body and belongs to the protective physiological response. Some patients with symptoms are also found to have osteophytes on X-ray. After conservative treatment patients’ uncomfortable symptoms can soon disappear, but the osteophytes remain. Others have more severe osteophytes but do not have any clinical symptoms, so osteophytes do not necessarily mean that they have osteoarthrosis. Osteophytes can be transformed into pathological states under certain conditions, because although osteophytes can, to a certain extent, improve bone and joint instability or micro-displacement caused by degenerative changes in the joints, they may also irritate and compress nerves and blood vessels or rub and irritate the synovial membrane causing exudation, edema, and hypertrophy and thickening of the villi, resulting in clinical symptoms such as pain. Therefore, once people are found to have osteophytes without clinical symptoms and signs during physical examinations, they do not need to worry too much and do not need to be treated according to osteoarthrosis, but only when pain and other uncomfortable symptoms appear. 4, osteophytes is a signal of joint degeneration, he reminded us to protect their joints.