How to treat bone spurs?

Description of the problem:

I have a bone spur in my knee that hurts when I walk.

It doesn't hurt if you don't walk. What should I do?

Ans:

Bone spurs are a phenomenon that occurs when the spine strengthens itself in response to degeneration. Generally speaking, if there is no pressure on the nerves, there is no need to be overly concerned about this, as we age, everyone has bone spurs to a greater or lesser extent. It is only when the bone spur presses on the nerve and causes other symptoms that further treatment is needed.

Medication

If the symptoms of a bone spur are not severe, simple painkillers, anti-inflammatory medications, tranquilizers and muscle relaxants, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers, such as aspirin and pramipexole, can be used to reduce pain and relieve symptoms.

Rehabilitation

The treatment of bone spurs can also take heat, ultrasound, electric ***, head traction and other methods. Hot compress is to increase the blood circulation of local pathological tissues and improve the ischemic phenomenon of muscles; electric *** and ultrasound are to promote the blood circulation of deeper muscle structure; head traction has the effect of pulling open the nerve holes, increasing the local blood circulation and reducing the burden on the joints.

Surgical treatment

When the symptoms cannot be improved after 3 months of medication or rehab, further surgical treatment is necessary. In the initial stage, posterior decompression surgery can be performed to remove the bone spurs that are compressing the nerves. These surgeries include laminectomy, discectomy, and vertebrectomy; in the middle stage, spinal endoprosthesis surgery can be performed to fix the vertebrae with internal fixation gas, and autologous bone grafting can be performed to achieve the purpose of bone fusion; and the use of vertebral cages can achieve the effect of nerve decompression and spinal correction at the same time. For long term degeneration of the spine, surgical repair can reorganize the deformed spine and reduce the load on the diseased area; and if the joints have been completely destroyed, artificial joint replacement surgery is required to restore the function of the joints.

Exercise

When the joints are not inflamed, you can try to strengthen the thighs and hips and stretching exercises to reduce the load on the joints. Other exercises, such as swimming, bicycling, walking on a flat surface, or light aerobic exercise, can fully mobilize the joints and strengthen the thigh muscles, which is also a good choice.

Acupuncture treatment in Chinese medicine

You can use traditional Chinese medicine to make herbal steam or cupping in the affected area to promote local circulation and achieve the effect of relaxation of the muscles and bones; different parts of the bone spurs to apply different acupuncture points, and use electroacupuncture to strengthen the effect of pain relief, or for patients with cold body, to use moxa to warm up the meridians and make the needle on the moxibustion, so that the patient can have a better understanding of the pain. Do acupuncture on the moxibustion warm through the meridians.

Other treatments

A back brace can be worn to protect the joints or to correct poor joint alignment. In addition, patients who suffer from knee disease due to weight-bearing on the lower extremities can reduce their weight to maintain an ideal body weight and minimize damage to the joints.