Low back bone spurs
Bone spurs occur naturally as we age and are due to the body’s natural repair mechanism. As bone is subjected to pressure or other stresses it tries to protect itself and place more bone in that area. This may sound like a good thing but as more bone is laid down it protrudes into other surrounding tissues and this may lead to pain and complications. Bone spurs are also called osteophytes. Bone spurs can occur on almost any bone or joint and are very common in the spine and vertebrae. As they grow on the vertebrae they can protrude into the nerves and depending on the level of compression of the nerve can cause a variety of different symptoms.
Symptoms
Bone spurs will not commonly produce symptoms unless they irritate pain-sensitive structures in the low back. If nerves are irritated by bone spurs, the symptoms may include pain or tingling, numbness, change of sensation and weakness in the legs. Since bone spurs in the vertebrae are associated with degenerative disc disease it is likely that these symptoms would be accompanied by reduced in spinal motion and muscle tightness.
Treatment
For most bone spurs there is no treatment necessary. Again, bone spurs occur with ageing and may cause no symptoms at all. If bone spurs are causing symptoms your treatment options should be discussed with your health care team.
Other causes of low back pain
The following conditions are some causes of low back pain.
- Lumbar myelopathy
- Cauda equina syndrome
- Lumbar spinal stenosis
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- Lumbar radiculopathy
- Lumbar facet joint pain
- Bulging Disc
- Herniated Disc
- Disc protrusion
- Discogenic pain
- Post laminectomy syndrome
- Coccydynia
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spondyloarthropathy
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Reiter’s syndrome
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Enteropathic arthritis
- Sciatica
- Sacroiliac disorders
- Foot drop
- Spinal neurofibroma
- Acute low pain
- Chronic low back pain
- Stiff low back
- Trigger points in the low back
- Red flags for low back pain
- Internal disc disruption
- Lumbar spondylosis
- Lumbar facet syndrome
- Lumbar foraminal stenosis
- Lumbar disc herniation
- Lumbar osteoarthritis
- Lumbar osteophytes
