Myth 1: Bone spurs are a problem only for the elderly Bone spurs are most likely to occur in the elderly and heavy workers, with a statistical incidence of 74% for people aged 45-60 and 90% for those aged 80 and above. However, in recent years, bone spurs have also been found in young people, commonly in computer people, mainly because of long-term, repeated use of certain joints, which can cause damage to these joints, such as the metatarsophalangeal joint in ballerinas and the hand joint in textile workers. Bone spurs can be accelerated when there are anatomical abnormalities of the joint itself, such as internal and external knee rolls, and when one is engaged in larger movements that cause tension in the lower extremities. In fact, everyone grows bone spurs in old age, but we do not feel them, which is a manifestation of aging. Myth 2: Bone spurs are osteoporosis and they are not the same thing. Although osteoporosis can also have bone spurs, bone spurs are caused by the body’s activities, which often excessively strains the ligaments attached to the edges of the bones and the joint capsule on the small joint synapses, and because of the constant strain and repeated stimulation of the periosteum there, it can cause local damage and bleeding on the edges of the bones and small joint ligaments, and the mechanization of the hematoma can lead to osteophytes. Osteoporosis is a disease in which there is a decrease in bone mass. Myth 3: Bone spurs are harmful and not beneficial In a sense, bone spurs are actually very beneficial to the human body. They can fix body organs and tissues, such as bone spurs on the spine, which can ensure the overall structural function of the spine. The original integrity and stability of the spine is destroyed if the spurs are removed. For example, for instability of the lumbar vertebrae (such as lumbar spondylolisthesis, lumbar tuberculosis, etc.), the doctor surgically removes the diseased tissue and puts autologous bone between the two vertebrae, so that the two vertebrae grow and fuse into one, and after a large number of bone spurs are generated between the vertebrae, the human back pain disappears. Myth 4: Bone spurs must be treated In fact, the bone spur itself does not need to be treated, it reflects that a part of your body has been subjected to excessive load, aging and degeneration, and needs to be protected and exercised in daily life. It is generally believed that, except for a very small number of bone spurs that compress nerves, blood vessels or important organs and require surgical removal, most people can be asymptomatic after the occurrence of a bone spur and the vast majority of patients do not need treatment. However, if the spur compresses the surrounding tissues, such as nerves, spinal cord, tendons, and muscles, symptoms such as localized pain in the cervical and lumbar spine, restricted movement of the knee and hip joints, and painful numbness and weakness of the limbs often occur. Some patients show headache, dizziness, stiff neck, blurred vision, abnormal urination and defecation, etc., and they need treatment. Myth 5: Bone spurs are the culprit of pain There are some misconceptions about how to treat bone spurs, such as “once the bone spur is removed, the pain will disappear”. But it is worth noting that bone spurs are not the only culprit of pain, for example, many patients with achalasia have not only bone spurs but also plantar fasciitis, even if the spurs are eliminated, it does not reduce the symptoms, and a simple small needle to loosen the plantar fasciitis or local medicine to close the problem. Myth 6: Bone spurs can be eliminated by taking medicine There are often newspaper advertisements boasting of what Chinese medicine, what a wonderful formula to eat, a plaster can remove bone spurs, in fact, these treatments can at most relieve a certain degree of pain, swelling, and bone spurs and normal bone components are exactly the same, it is impossible to easily remove. If the bone spur can be removed at will, can’t it also be easily removed from the bone? Myth 7: There is no good way to treat bone spurs There are two broad methods of bone spur treatment, non-surgical treatment: proper rest during the onset of symptoms, along with heat therapy, massage, massage or local painful spot closure. Taking medication reduces the swelling and relieves the pain; it does not really remove the bone spur. Only in a few cases is it necessary to operate to remove bone spurs, such as spinal cervical spondylosis (spinal bone spurs severely compress and irritate the spinal cord and nerve roots), or lumbar spinal stenosis (bone spurs cause spinal stenosis with back pain, numbness, and changes in urination and defecation), and for bone spurs around joints, there are usually manifestations of osteoarthritis. In this case, artificial joint replacement is the best choice, not only to solve the pain, but also to obtain good function. It is true that bone spurs cannot be prevented, but they can be prevented, such as avoiding long-term harmful strenuous exercise, taking appropriate physical exercise such as jogging, walking, swimming, etc., taking appropriate calcium supplements, treating primary diseases such as congenital dysplasia, etc., and operating on fractured joints to achieve anatomical repositioning as much as possible to prevent osteophytes and traumatic arthritis later on. The fractured joints should be treated surgically to prevent osteophytes and traumatic arthritis.