Over time and age, the vertebrae gradually degenerate, causing Spinal bone spurs. This is a common disease in the elderly, significantly affecting the quality of life of the patient. Of which, about 80% of men and 60% of women over 50 years old have spinal bone spurs. The rate of spinal bone spurs in both men and women is up to 95% by the age of 70.

1. What is Spinal bone spurs?

Spinal bone spurs (Osteophytes) are bony growths that grow out of the vertebrae in areas adjacent to the vertebral heads, discs, and ligaments. Osteophytes often appear near the edges of the facet joints in the spine and poke at the nerve roots and surrounding soft tissues, causing pain.

Image simulating healthy spine and osteoarthritic spine. (Source: Internet)

In fact, there are many factors that lead to spinal bone spurs. Including:

– Aging: Over time, the discs wear out, the ligaments become looser and don’t keep the joints as stable as they should. As a result, the body tries to thicken the ligaments to hold the bones together. This starts to form “extra bone” that puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots.

– Hereditary: Family factors are also one of the risks of spinal bone spurs. If many people in a family have spinal bone spurs, the next generation will be at high risk of developing this disease.

– Spinal degeneration: Getting older, your spine degenerates, and your cartilage is easily worn out and cracked, so to ensure your spine can function, your body will activate calcium deposits. However, if calcium deposits are excessive in unnecessary locations, Spinal bone spurs will form in your spine.

– Chronic spondylitis: The disease causes two vertebral surfaces to come into contact and rub against each other, forming vertebral spurs.

– Injury: The cause of disc damage leading to spinal bone spur formation.

– Daily habits: People who often do heavy labor or exercise in the wrong posture are at high risk of getting the disease. Every time they bend or crouch, the spine is compressed and Spinal bone spurs grow, leading to many aches and pains.

In addition, stimulants are also factors that promote the formation of the disease. People who are sedentary but often use a lot of stimulants are susceptible to degeneration, creating opportunities for spinal bone spurs to appear and develop. People who exercise excessively and in the wrong posture also increase the risk of spinal degeneration, leading to the appearance of spinal bone spurs.

2. Common Spinal bone spurs

Cervical spondylosis is a degenerative condition of the cervical spine, leading to compression of the nerve roots, cervical cord, and spinal artery. This is the cause of problems such as neck-shoulder syndrome; neck-shoulder-arm syndrome; vertebral artery-basilar syndrome; cervical cord compression syndrome, etc. As this area is located near the brain and spine and is where many nerves and blood vessels pass through, cervical spondylosis often compresses the nerves, which can cause serious effects and pose many dangers to the patient.

 Cervical spondylosis occurs when the joints in the cervical spine degenerate. (Source: Internet)

Lumbar spine spurs: Locating between the ribs and the pelvis, the lumbar spine is under great pressure from the body’s weight. This is the most common form of the disease compared to cervical and thoracic spine spurs. The disease often develops chronically, causing deformity of the lumbar spine, fibrosis of the subchondral bone, and erosion of the articular cartilage in the lumbar spine. Usually, the pain can be concentrated in the middle of the waist or spread to the groin or legs.

The cervical and lumbar vertebrae are locations where spinal bone spurs are easily formed

3. Signs of spinal bone spurs

Recognizing spinal bone spurs is extremely important. The most common sign of spinal bone spurs is pain, depending on where the spurs appear, the pain is different:

• Constant pain in two important areas: the neck and lower back. When the disease first starts, these signs are not clear, the patient only feels tired, later on, when the disease progresses more severely, you may feel aching pain all over the body.
• Pain in the arms and legs: When the disease becomes severe, these signs become more obvious than ever. At this time, the patient not only has the usual pain in the back and neck, but the pain also quickly spreads to the patient’s arms and legs.
• Aching and sore limbs: The Spinal bone spurs in the spine will put pressure on the nervous system and muscles, causing them to function weakly, leading to the patient losing sensation in the limbs. If this condition persists and cannot be overcome, the patient is likely to have difficulty breathing, gasping for breath, shortness of breath or unstable blood pressure.

4.     Measures to prevent spinal bone spurs

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the most effective way to prevent spinal bone spurs through actions:

•     Perform regular exercises to increase strength and flexibility of muscles and bones.
•     Avoid strenuous exercise or applying force to the spine for long periods of time.
•     Sitting with good posture, standing and lying down to reduce pressure on the spine.

Adjusting living habits contributes significantly to the prevention of spinal bone spurs. If we do not build a scientific lifestyle and work, we are contributing to the faster process of spinal degeneration. Degeneration, if left for a long time, will lead to many dangerous complications that not only affect health but also directly affect the patient’s ability to move and walk.

•     Ensure adequate and quality sleep that allow the body to recover and regenerate bone tissue
•     Avoid excessive tension and stress, as this can be a source of stress to the spine
•     Limit carrying heavy objects, use support equipment to reduce pressure on the spine

Nutrition for patients with spinal bone spurs is of great concern to many people. To prevent this disease, it is necessary to establish a nutritious and scientific diet by:

•     Supplement calcium and vitamin D in your daily diet to enhance bone health, build and maintain strong bones, and reduce the risk of developing Spinal bone spurs. Food sources rich in calcium include milk, beans, and seafood, …
•     Limit consumption of stimulants such as caffeine, carbonated drinks and alcohol

In order to provide abundant nutrition and nutrients that are good for bone and joint health, the Nutricare Medical Nutrition Institute – USA (NMNI-USA) and Nutricare Company have launched the Nutricare Bone nutritional product. The product has an outstandingly high calcium content of 1800 mg combined with vitamin D3 to increase calcium absorption in the intestine along with vitamin K2 to help transport and increase calcium density attached to the skeleton, thereby supporting the prevention of osteoporosis. In particular, Nutricare Bone also supplements Glucosamine from the US, which has been clinically proven to increase synovial fluid and cartilage cells, allowing to reduce pain and increase joint flexibility even in old age. In addition, the product is also supplemented with 50 nutrients with easily absorbed vegetable protein and Whey protein, supporting the provision of essential amino acids involved in protein synthesis to build and regenerate muscle mass, increase mobility. With 2-3 glasses of mixed powdered milk each day, Nutricare Bone provides adequate nutrition for the elderly with bone and joint problems, at risk of reduced bone density, and spinal bone spurs.

In addition to lifestyle and nutritional solutions, the elderly need to have regular health check-ups to detect early any problems related to spinal bone spurs as well as other musculoskeletal diseases.

Above are the issues of spinal osteoarthritis. Hopefully this article provides an overview of spinal osteoarthritis, thereby allowing you to take better care of your bone and joint health, prevent bone and joint diseases, and live happily and healthily every day.