Do bone spurs need to be removed?

Only if they're causing significant nerve compression and symptoms that haven't responded to conservative treatment — a bone spur found incidentally with no symptoms is left alone.

Can I prevent bone spurs from forming?

You can't fully prevent them since they're part of normal joint aging, but maintaining a healthy weight, staying active, and good posture can slow the wear-and-tear process that leads to them.

Are bone spurs the same as arthritis?

They're a feature of osteoarthritis rather than a separate condition — spurs form as the joint tries to stabilize itself in response to cartilage and disc wear.

Osteophytes (bone spurs)

Read Your Scan Editorial Team·Last updated 21 August 2026

Written from published radiology references and reviewed for plain language. Not written or signed by a physician, and not a diagnosis. How we write these pages →

In plain language

Small bony growths that form with wear over time. They are common and often cause no trouble on their own.

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Where you'll see this

This wording turns up on Cervical Spine MRI reports — MRI imaging of the spine. A cervical (neck) MRI shows the seven neck vertebrae, the discs between them, the spinal cord as it passes through, and the nerves that travel to the shoulders and arms. Doctors order it for neck pain, arm numbness or tingling, weakness, or after an injury. As with the low back, many findings it describes are common age-related changes seen in people without symptoms, so the report is read together with how you feel.

Questions worth asking your doctor

Do the MRI findings match where I feel neck or arm symptoms?
Are these changes typical for my age, or does anything stand out?
What non-surgical approaches, like physical therapy, might help?
Are there symptoms that would mean I should be seen more urgently?
Do I need any follow-up imaging, and when?

How common is this?

Osteophytes, or bone spurs, are bony projections that form along joint margins as part of osteoarthritis, and they are an extremely common part of spinal aging — most adults over 60 have them somewhere in the spine, often without knowing it.

When should I worry?

On their own, bone spurs are not dangerous — they're the body's response to years of wear on a joint. They matter clinically only when they grow into a space where they compress a nerve root or, less commonly, the spinal cord, producing pain, numbness, or weakness.

What happens next

A bone spur found incidentally, without symptoms, needs no treatment at all. When spurs are contributing to nerve compression and symptoms, treatment follows the same path as other degenerative causes of nerve irritation: physical therapy and medication first, with surgery reserved for cases that don't improve or that involve significant compression.

Frequently asked questions

Do bone spurs need to be removed?: Only if they're causing significant nerve compression and symptoms that haven't responded to conservative treatment — a bone spur found incidentally with no symptoms is left alone.
Can I prevent bone spurs from forming?: You can't fully prevent them since they're part of normal joint aging, but maintaining a healthy weight, staying active, and good posture can slow the wear-and-tear process that leads to them.
Are bone spurs the same as arthritis?: They're a feature of osteoarthritis rather than a separate condition — spurs form as the joint tries to stabilize itself in response to cartilage and disc wear.

Other words on the same report

Where this word comes up

What “facet arthropathy” and “facet hypertrophy” meanArthritis of the small joints at the back of the spine. What hypertrophy is describing, why it is nearly universal after middle age, and when it explains pain.What “retrolisthesis” means on a spine reportOne vertebra sitting slightly backwards on the one below. What the grades mean, why it usually comes from disc wear rather than injury, and when it matters.What “AC joint osteoarthritis” means on a shoulder reportWear at the small joint where the collarbone meets the shoulder blade. Why almost every adult shoulder scan mentions it, and how to tell whether it is the thing causing your pain.What “subchondral sclerosis” means on a reportBone under the cartilage looking whiter and denser. Why it is the bone responding to load rather than a disease of its own, and what it sits alongside.

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Read Your Scan is informational only — not a medical diagnosis, and not a substitute for a licensed radiologist or your doctor. If you have urgent symptoms, seek care.