Bone spurs develop in the spine due to conditions like arthritis or degenerative disc disease. This is due to the increase in bone-on-bone contact between the vertebrae. A spinal bone spur can potentially disrupt your life by compressing the spinal cord or nerve roots in the spinal column. Resulting in symptoms of pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness. These symptoms can make it difficult to complete regular activities such as yard work or exercise.
If you are physically active, the psychological stress of missing out on regular exercise can be just as difficult as the pain and discomfort a bone spur can cause. You may be glad to know that while rest is an important part of treatment for spine conditions, exercise is also beneficial if done properly and with the supervision of your doctor or physical therapist.
Types of Exercises for Bone Spur Symptom Relief
While you may be anxious to get back to your normal routine, it is critical to wait until your doctor clears you for exercise if you’ve been diagnosed with a spinal bone spur. Most likely you will have to avoid any high-impact activities that could potentially worsen your condition. Running or contact sports are both examples of high-impact activities. When you are ready to start moving most doctor-recommended exercises will be restorative and therapeutic in nature. The goal will be to strengthen supporting muscles and improve posture. The purpose of this is to reduce the pressure being placed on spinal nerves.
Specific forms of exercises you may be recommended include:
- Physical therapy exercises
- Restorative yoga
- Water aerobics
- Short walks
- Pilates
Listen to your body and stop exercising at the first sign of discomfort – it is important for your long-term recovery prospects to err on the side of caution.
Is Surgery an Option?
When combined with treatments like medication, hot and cold compression, and a healthy diet, exercise can provide the relief necessary from a spinal bone spur to help you comfortably engage in an active lifestyle. However, surgery can become an option if weeks or months of conservative treatment do not improve symptoms.
BEST Health System provides minimally invasive spine surgery that is a safer and more effective alternative to traditional open neck or back procedures. Our highly skilled surgical team performs our procedures on an outpatient basis using muscle-sparing techniques. This means that an incision typically less than an inch, will be used which helps reduce overall recovery and risk of complication. To learn more, contact us today!
