It can be alarming to experience sudden numbness or tingling in your arms or legs, known as radiculopathy, but if you do, you might have spinal bone spurs — bony protrusions on your vertebrae.
Spinal bone spurs are common. By the time most folks reach age 50, approximately 80% of men and 60% of women have bone spurs somewhere on their bodies.
As a highly respected board-certified neurosurgeon, Benjamin Cohen, MD, FACS, expertly diagnoses and treats bone spurs. His patient-centered approach means that he takes time to listen to your history of back discomfort and uses the latest technology to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
Dr. Cohen customizes your treatment to address your unique anatomy and condition, providing lasting relief so you can enjoy life and be active again.
Bone spurs are most common in people with joint damage due to osteoarthritis. The cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones breaks down when you have arthritis, and your body tries to repair this problem by creating bone spurs in the damaged joint.
Also known as osteophytes, bone spurs tend to grow where bone meets bone, and some people feel no symptoms at all. However, if left untreated, bone spurs contribute to spinal stenosis, which develops when your spinal canal narrows and pinches your nerves.
Though you can develop bone spurs in other parts of your body, such as your knees or hips, when they emerge on your vertebrae, they crowd your spinal cord and aggravate your nerve roots, leading to arm and leg numbness, and often these additional symptoms:
The location of your bone spurs — upper (cervical), middle (thoracic), or lower spine (lumbar) — dictates the location of the radiating symptoms. For example, a bone spur in your lumbar region may cause leg pain, and a bone spur in your cervical spine may lead to hand weakness.
Initially, Dr. Cohen may recommend using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or muscle relaxants to ease your discomfort, and spinal injections can also provide some relief. Physical therapy and an exercise program can help, too.
You may need surgical intervention to address severe symptoms and chronic mobility impairment. When surgery becomes necessary, Dr. Cohen uses a minimally invasive technique that requires only a few small incisions using specially designed instruments. You get the benefits of a faster recovery and less pain, bleeding, and scarring.
Depending on the location of your bone spur pain, Dr. Cohen may perform a decompressive laminectomy or a foraminotomy.
In a laminectomy, he opens space for your nerves by removing the upper portion of your affected vertebra.
In a foraminotomy, Dr. Cohen shaves down or trims away bone tissue around your foramen, the opening between your vertebrae where your spinal nerve roots exit to other parts of your body. This procedure relieves the compression on your nerve root.
Don’t suffer any longer with complications of bone spurs. Dr. Cohen can guide you toward the best treatment plan for you.
Call our office at 516-246-5008 to schedule an in-person or telemedicine appointment with Dr. Cohen, which allows you to consult with him no matter where you are. You may also reach out to us through our website.
