No — an elbow bone spur won’t go away on its own. Your body doesn’t reabsorb the extra bone, so once a spur forms, it stays. The good news: the spur often causes no problems at all, and when it is painful, treatment relieves the symptoms — options range from anti-inflammatory medication and steroid injections to physical therapy, with surgery reserved for spurs that severely limit the joint or press on a nerve.
What is a Bone Spur
A bone spur is when small bumps of extra bone form due to injury or arthritis. Your body believes the bone has been damaged, causing it to grow bone. Since there isn’t any damage, it forms more bone than is needed. Usually, you may not even notice a bone spur as it doesn’t do any damage apart from being a small extra bump on your body. Bone spurs start causing damage once they press on nerves or form near joints causing unnecessary rubbing.
Bone Spur Treatment
A bone spur will not go away independently since the body will not naturally remove the extra bone. If the spur isn’t causing problems, then there may not be any reason to remove it, and you can go on with the little extra bone bump not causing any problems. If it is painful, there are treatments to assist with it.
- Over-the-counter medicine – Tylenol or Advil can combat the swelling and pain that bone spurs can cause
- Steroid Shots – These are more intensive pain relievers that some doctors offer. Steroid shots will reduce pain and swelling.
- Physical Therapy – This will involve moving around the joint that’s in pain to build muscle strength and improve stiffness.
- Surgery – If the bone spur is inconvenient, it may require surgery to remove it. This will usually only be done if the bone spur is causing severe pain and pressing on something important such as a nerve or locks up a joint with its presence.
Our physical therapist in Manhattan NY is more than capable of creating a training program suitable for those who have bone spurs.
Visit our Physical Therapist in Manhattan NY, at MSM Wellness
Don’t let bone spurs inconvenience you and prevent you from moving around. Contact MSM Wellness to see our physical therapist in Manhattan NY, and get pain relief from your bone spur. Our staff has the experience and knowledge to treat you while maintaining high customer care.