What causes bone spurs in joints_What causes bone spurs in knees Bone spurs are also known as bone warts and bone growths, the formal medical term is osteophytes. They usually appear on the edge of the joint and look like sharp spurs on an X-ray, so folk call them bone spurs. In reality, many people with bone spurs do not feel pain and often find out about them only after taking an X-ray. How do bone spurs form? Because the cartilage on the joint surface is worn and damaged, which leads to abnormal bone repair, hardening and proliferation; if it presses on the nerve, it will produce pain, such as sciatica, degenerative knee arthritis, heel pain, and cervical spine pain. With age, the bones of the knee joint are worn out over the years and the surrounding ligaments are relaxed, resulting in joint instability and osteophytes in the corresponding parts of the lesion. 2, cartilage matrix changes, especially in the elderly cartilage matrix proteoglycan content decreased, collagen fibers increased, cartilage elasticity is reduced, vulnerable to injury and abnormal changes. 3, knee synovial fluid changes Research shows that the synovial fluid composition of patients with osteophytes of the knee joint has changed, and the content of hyaluronic acid has decreased, making its lubrication, buffering and other functions weakened, resulting in the destruction of articular cartilage. In addition, after surgery to remove most of the synovial membrane of the knee joint, or long-term braking of the knee joint can cause osteophytes of the knee joint. 4, joint injury factors Fractures in the knee joint, meniscal injury, patellar dislocation and other reasons can also cause knee joint cartilage damage. 5, Infection or inflammation factors Infection in the knee joint can cause cartilage damage in the knee joint. 6, extra-knee deformity Knee inversion, knee valgus deformity caused by poor joint alignment can cause damage to the articular cartilage. 7. Knee instability Knee instability caused by ligaments and joint capsule laxity around the knee joint can lead to articular cartilage damage. 8, post-fracture osteophytes After the fracture or even shattered form of repair resulting in continuous proliferation of bone cells around the injury to form a bone scab. 9, surrounding soft tissue injury Calcification and ossification can occur, affecting the periosteum and causing the periosteum to produce bone. 10, other factors Excessive weight bearing, obesity, etc. can increase the load on the knee joint and accelerate the development of degenerative changes. What should I do if I have a bone spur? Is there any good treatment for knee spurs? For early-stage knee spurs, no special treatment is needed. The main focus is on self-care, not excessive distance sports, such as climbing, long-distance running, etc., and appropriate weight loss. In the middle stage of osteoarthritis of the knee, the patient can take medication, such as medication to lubricate the cartilage of the joint, or inject lubricant into the joint cavity if the knee is not swollen. Surgery can be performed to clean up the synovial membrane and remove the free body. For late stage knee spurs, the patient’s knee joint is almost full of bone spurs, the surrounding soft tissue is heavily proliferated, and the joint space is obviously narrowed, which is quite late stage of osteoarthritis, and the effect of any conservative treatment is limited. The best surgical option is to use a surface knee replacement to completely resolve the knee joint problem. This will completely clear the synovial membrane, remove the bone spurs around the knee joint, and replace the cartilage of the knee joint with artificial material. Knee surface replacement is now a more mature surgical procedure and is an effective treatment for end-stage bone joints, and patients can fully resume their normal lives after surgery. The following points should also be noted in daily life: 1. Try to pay attention to less stairs, less hiking, less hiking, less prolonged standing, less holding children, less lifting heavy objects to avoid aggravating the condition by overloading the knee joint. 2, maintain the appropriate weight, to prevent obesity, increase the burden on the lower limb joints, once the weight is overweight, to actively lose weight, pay attention to adjust the diet, control weight. 3, try to avoid walking in high heels, should prefer thick-soled and flexible soft-soled shoes, in order to reduce the impact on the knee joint, to avoid the knee cartilage impact, wear. 4, before participating in outdoor sports to do a good job of preparation activities, so that the knee joint activities open before participating in sports. When practicing leg press, do not lift your leg too high to prevent excessive strain on the knee ligaments and muscle tissue. 5, when the temperature drops in winter, the knee joint is cold vasoconstriction, blood circulation becomes poor, often making the joint stiff, pain aggravated, so in cold weather should pay attention to keep warm, if necessary, wear a knee brace, to prevent the knee joint from cold. 6, pay attention to the body posture when walking, do not twist the waist to work, skimming the legs to walk, avoid squatting for a long time. Daily squatting action is best changed to sit on a small bench. Avoid maintaining a posture for a long time, pay attention to often change posture.