Non-Surgical Bone Spur Treatment

The types of spinal bone spur treatment methods that are most commonly recommended by doctors are known as conservative treatments. Aside from some alternative treatment methods that involve the use of supplements to slowly reduce the size of a bone spur, most nonsurgical methods of treatment do not aim to actually heal the spinal bone spur. However, the pain, numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, and muscle spasms that may result from a bone spur and compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots can be managed, reduced, and sometimes even eradicated by conservative (nonsurgical) treatments. Thus, your doctor will likely first recommend and prescribe treatments to you in an effort to limit the symptoms instead of trying to heal the bone spur.

Physical Therapy, Exercise, and Stretching

A form of bone spur treatment that doctors often recommend is physical therapy. Physical therapy helps to strengthen and improve the function of muscles throughout the body, as well as increase flexibility. Light exercise increases blood flow, which helps bring oxygen and nutrients to the affected areas of the spine, and may also help reduce pain, relax muscles, and improve range of motion for a period of time. Stretching exercises can improve the flexibility of all the muscles in the neck and back, and may work to temporarily relieve nerve compression, which can lessen the symptoms experienced.

NSAIDs and Other Medications

Medication can also help minimize the symptoms of a bone spur in the neck or back. The most common forms of medication prescribed to patients with a bone spur are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Just as the name suggests, these drugs work to reduce pain and other symptoms by decreasing swelling and inflammation. NSAIDs come in many different forms and can be either bought over-the-counter or prescribed by a doctor. Other forms of medication, such as pain inhibitors, may also be prescribed by a doctor as a form of bone spur treatment.