Osteophyte
Pathophysiology
Bone spurs form due to the increase in a damaged joint’s surface area. This is most commonly from the onset of arthritis. Bone spurs usually limit joint movement and typically cause pain.
Bone spurs form naturally on the back of spine as a person ages and are a sign of degeneration in the spine. In this case the spurs are not the source of back pains, but instead are the common symptom of a deeper problem. However, bone spurs on the spine can impinge on nerves that leave the spine for other parts of the body. This impingement can cause pain in both upper and lower limbs and a numbness or tingling sensations in the hands and feet due to the nerves supplying sensation to their dermatomes.
Spurs can also appear on the feet, either along toes or the heel, as well as on the hands. In extreme cases bone spurs have grown along a person’s entire skeletal structure: along the knees, hips, shoulders, ribs, arms and ankles. Such cases are only exhibited with multiple exostoses.
Osteophytes on the fingers or toes are known as Heberden’s nodes (if on the DIP joint) or Bouchard’s nodes (if on the PIP joints).
Bone spurs may also be the end result of certain disease processes. Osteomyelitis, a bone infection, may leave the adjacent bone with a spur formation. Charcot foot, the neuropathic breakdown of the feet seen primarily in diabetics, will also leave bone spurs which may then become symptomatic.
Cause
Osteophyte formation has been classically related to any sequential and consequential changes in bone formation due to aging, degeneration, mechanical instability, and disease. Often osteophytes form in osteoarthritic joints due to damage and wear from inflammation. Calcification and new bone formation can also occur in response to mechanical damage in joints, or at the attachment points for ligaments and tendons.
References
^ a b Bone spurs MayoClinic.com
^ osteophyte at Dorland’s Medical Dictionary
^ Laser Spine Institute
^ Nathan M, Pope MH, Grobler LJ (Aug 1994). “Osteophyte formation in the vertebral column: a review of the etiologic factors–Part II”. Contemporary Orthopaedics 29 (2): 1139. PMID 10150240.
External links
Mayo Clinic website concise information on bone spurs
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Musculoskeletal disorders: Arthropathies (M00-M19, 711-719)
Arthritis
(monoarthritis/
polyarthritis)
Inflammation
(Neutrophilia)
Infectious
Septic arthritis Tuberculosis arthritis Reactive arthritis (indirectly)
Noninfectious
Seronegative spondyloarthropathy: Reactive arthritis Psoriatic arthritis Ankylosing spondylitis
Rheumatoid arthritis: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis Adult-onset Still’s disease Felty’s syndrome
Crystal arthropathy: Gout Chondrocalcinosis
Noninflammatory
Osteoarthritis: Heberden’s node Bouchard’s nodes
Other
hemorrhage (Hemarthrosis) pain (Arthralgia) Osteophyte Hypermobility villonodular synovitis (Pigmented villonodular synovitis) Joint stiffness
joint navs: anat, non-congenital arthropathies/deformities/dorsopathies/soft tissue arthropathy/congenital, eponymous signs, proc
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Soft tissue disorders / Rheumatism / Connective tissue arthropathy (M65-M79, 725-727)
Capsular
Synoviopathy
Synovitis/Tenosynovitis (Calcific tendinitis, Stenosing tenosynovitis, Trigger finger, DeQuervain’s syndrome) Transient synovitis Ganglion cyst
osteochondromatosis (Synovial osteochondromatosis) Plica syndrome
villonodular synovitis (Giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath)
Bursopathy
Bursitis (Olecranon, Prepatellar, Trochanteric, Subacromial) Synovial cyst (Baker’s cyst)
Noncapsular
Fasciopathy
Fasciitis: Plantar Nodular Necrotizing Eosinophilic
Fibromatosis/contracture
Dupuytren’s contracture Peyronie’s disease Plantar fibromatosis Aggressive fibromatosis Knuckle pads
Tendinopathy/
Enthesopathy/Enthesitis
upper limb (Adhesive capsulitis of shoulder, Rotator cuff tear, Golfer’s elbow, Tennis elbow)
lower limb (Iliotibial band syndrome, Patellar tendinitis, Achilles tendinitis, Calcaneal spur, Metatarsalgia) Bone spur
other/general: Tendinitis Tendinosis
joint navs: anat, non-congenital arthropathies/deformities/dorsopathies/soft tissue arthropathy/congenital, eponymous signs, proc
muscle, DF+DRCT navs: anat/hist/physio, acquired myopathy/congenital myopathy/neoplasia, symptoms+signs/eponymous, proc
Categories: Skeletal disordersHidden categories: Articles needing additional references from December 2008 | All articles needing additional references | Articles lacking reliable references from May 2009 | All articles lacking reliable references | Articles with weasel words from May 2009
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