What causes bone spurs in general? Bone spurs are caused by the wear and tear of cartilage in the joints for various reasons, which leads to the repair, hardening and growth of the bones themselves. However, bone spurs are not exclusive to the elderly. Due to changes in work patterns, many people have to sit and stand for long periods of time, and if this is coupled with incorrect posture, it is easy for the spine to degenerate early at a young age, which can lead to the occurrence of bone spurs. Why do people have bone spurs? Why do people get bone spurs? Bone spurs are related to the degeneration of joints. The degeneration of joints in the body is mainly due to the wear and tear of joint cartilage. When the cartilage wears away, the bones associated with it are subjected to abnormal pressure, and the stability of the joint is affected. In order to compensate for the lack of cartilage and to return to a stable joint state, these bones will consciously grow additional bone at the edge of the pressure point, also known as a bone spur. There are three reasons for the growth of bone spurs on the heel bone: First, the metatarsal tendon membrane is located between the heel bone and the metatarsal head and is a bundle of very dense fibrous tissue in the form of a membrane that covers the bottom of the foot. If we consider the heel bone, navicular bone and metatarsal bone as a “bow”, the metatarsal tendon membrane is like a “string”. Its role is to protect the nerves, blood vessels, and muscles on the bottom of the foot, maintain the shape of the arch, and reduce the vibration when walking. When people walk, the pressure makes the arc of the foot straight, and the tension generated by the metatarsal tendon membrane has to maintain the shape of the arch, which inevitably results in a significant increase in the tension of the metatarsal tendon membrane at the heel bone attachment. The result of long-term pulling makes the heel bone appear osteophytes and form bone spurs. Secondly, because the heel supports all the weight of the body, it is the part that is under the most pressure, and also the part that is under the longest continuous pressure. As we grow older, the heel is subject to long-term chronic wear and tear, so middle-aged and elderly people are very prone to foot osteophytes. In addition, when people get older, the metatarsal fascia begins to undergo degenerative changes, and the fibrous tissues that make up the metatarsal fascia gradually lose their elasticity, making it easy to get injured when walking long distances or jumping from high places, and it is difficult to return to the original structure, often forming scar tissue, making the metatarsal fascia even less elastic, and the pain persists without relief. If the traumatic inflammatory reaction of the metatarsal fascia attached to the heel node persists for a long time, it will stimulate the periosteum of the heel bone, causing bone hyperplasia and forming bird’s beak-like bone spurs. It is clear, then, that bone spurs are not all negative; their appearance is actually a form of self-healing in the body, which is beneficial. It is only the presence of some bone spurs that compresses the surrounding blood vessels and nerves, causing pain and other symptoms, which is why they need to be treated.