Bone Spur Surgery

Reasons a bone spur happens

Bone spur surgery is one of the potential treatment options for these common excess bone growths, also known as osteophytes. Bone spurs can be caused by a number of factors, including aging, arthritis, disc degeneration, traumatic injury, poor posture, overuse, and more. While bone spurs by themselves are not harmful and can occur in many places in the body, those along the spine can be potentially problematic. They can become an issue when these smooth growths impinge on a nerve or another bone, which can lead to intense back and/or neck pain and other negative side effects, such as weakness in the extremities, numbness, restricted movement, radiating arm and leg pain, and in some cases, disability.

Your options

Back pain. Computer artwork of a man with a painful back. His spine is shown in red. The back pain could be lumbago, a condition where the soft tissues around the bones of the spine have been strained. This can be caused by incorrectly lifting heavy loads. Treatments include rest, sleeping on rigid mattresses and pain medication.

If osteophytes have grown to the point where they are causing you pain or other problems, there are a number of treatment options your doctor may recommend. Some are as basic as rest, weight loss, exercise, physical therapy, cortisone injections, or medications, such as anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, and pain relievers; however, in some cases, bone spur surgery is a potential option, and there are two common surgical methods for dealing with this issue:

• Foraminotomy – This procedure is designed to reduce pressure on nerves that are being compressed by the intervertebral foramen, the area in the vertebra where a nerve root leaves the spinal canal. Bone spurs can be a possible cause of this pressure, and foraminotomy can enlarge the passage through which the nerve exits the spinal canal.
• Laminotomy – This procedure increases the amount of space available for the neural tissue, releasing the nerve(s) and relieving pressure the spinal cord and/or spinal nerve root.

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Traditionally, bone spur surgery options have been invasive, open-back procedures that have often left patients with potentially lengthy, painful recovery processes and higher infection rates; however, the innovative, minimally invasive procedures performed at Laser Spine Institute – including bone spur surgery treatments such as foraminotomy and laminotomy – can often provide relief from back and/or neck pain quickly, without as long of a recuperation period or risk of infection. Our outpatient procedures require only general anesthesia, result in minimal scar tissue formation, and have a very high success rate. For a free MRI review, or to learn more about our state-of-the-art bone spur surgery procedures, surgical centers, and patient care program, contact us today.