By Qineng Tan, L.Ac., Ph.D. and Xiaomei Cai, L.Ac., Ph.D.
Heel pain when walking? Numbness in arms or legs? Hip pain? These can all be signs of bone spurs, or osteophytes—bony projections that develop around joints or along the spine. Acupuncture and TCM can help alleviate pain and tingling related to heel spurs and bone spurs on spine,and help to prevent further growth of bone spurs.
Bone spurs are essentially extra bone tissue that grows around the edges of bones. This happens most commonly where two different bones meet in a joint. Bone spurs can grow in many areas: knees, hips, bone spurs on feet, shoulder, ankle, or bone spur in back.
What Is the Root Cause of Bone Spurs?
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that causes cartilage to wear down over time. Sometimes bone spurs develop as the body’s way of making up for loss of cartilage in a particular area, trying to fill in the gap.
Bone spurs can also grow due to pressure on a bone, which can either be due to repetitive stress from movement (sports, dancing, etc.), extra weight because of obesity, or wearing shoes that rub or pinch the heel or top of the foot.
Maybe you’ve noticed foot spurs on heel. Heel spurs often relate to plantar fasciitis—inflammation in the ligaments of the foot that causes heel pain. Bone spur heel can develop as the body’s reaction to plantar fasciitis, causing sharp pain in the foot.
You might feel a lump or bump growing on the top of your foot or on one of your toes. Bone spurs in foot or heel are very common, especially as people age. The older you are, the higher your risk of developing bone spurs.
Having flat feet can also increase the risk of bones spurs on feet, as this condition puts extra stress on the many small bones and joints in your feet.
Osteophytosis of the spine can develop in the neck (cervical spine), mid-back (thoracic spine), or lower back (lumbar spine), potentially causing pain, stiffness, and nerve compression, leading to tingling or numbness in the arms and/or legs.
Bone Spur Symptoms
Many people have bone spurs without realizing it, because bone spurs don’t necessarily cause pain. In other cases, bone spurs can cause serious, debilitating pain, making it difficult to walk.
The most common signs of bone spurs include:
- Stiffness
- Redness and swelling around the bone spur
- Stiff joints
- Weakness in limbs
- Tingling or numbness in limbs
- Corns on the toes
- Difficulty standing or walking
Heel Spur Treatment
Bone spurs are typically diagnosed through physical examination and imaging studies, such as X-rays, MRI, or CT scans. These tests help determine the size and location of the bone spur and assess the extent of any associated damage to surrounding tissues, such as cartilage, muscles, or nerves.
Medications like ibuprofen or naproxen are commonly prescribed to reduce pain and inflammation. Corticosteroid injections may also be used to provide temporary relief from pain.
In severe cases, surgical intervention may be recommended. Procedures such as a bone spur removal (osteophyte excision) or joint replacement (in cases of severe osteoarthritis) may be performed. In some cases of heel spurs, this is combined with plantar fascia release surgery.
Most bone spurs, however, do not require surgery. It is possible to relieve pain and pressure caused by bone spurs and prevent them from growing bigger. Acupuncture and TCM can help by addressing the root cause of bone spurs.
Can Acupuncture Help Bone Spurs?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), bone spurs are viewed as the result of imbalances within the body, particularly related to deficiencies in the Kidney and Liver organ systems.
What deficiency causes bone spurs?
According to TCM theory, the Kidneys govern the bones and produce marrow, which nourishes the bones. This concept of the “kidney” is very different from the way we think of it in modern medicine; it is more of a functional concept of how water is metabolized in the body, and how it relates to growth, development, and aging. Kidney deficiency can lead to weakened bones and the development of osteophytes.
Herbs that nourish the kidney system will be combined with acupuncture treatment. Specific acupoints can be used to stimulate the parathyroid gland, which plays a role in calcium utilization.
Acupuncture treatment can help provide pain relief for many orthopedic conditions that cause joint pain or bone pain, including tennis elbow, bursitis/hip pain, and arthritis.
One case study of a woman suffering from heel pain that had not resolved with conventional treatments of local steroid injections. After receiving regular acupuncture treatments over a course of six months, the patient reported that her pain had gone from an 8 on the pain scale to a 3. Radiology imaging showed, after the course of acupuncture treatment, that the bone spur was no longer in evidence.
Your TCM practitioner may recommend eating a diet that supports bone health, including foods that are rich in calcium, magnesium, and other essential nutrients. Foods that nourish the Kidneys, such as black beans, walnuts, and seaweed, will usually be emphasized.
Acupuncture Near Me for Bone Spurs in Los Angeles
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine provide a holistic and effective way to manage and treat bone spurs. Drs. Tan and Cai at Art of Wellness in West L.A. have over 35 years of experience helping people find relief from bone pain due to all kinds of conditions. Whether you’re dealing with heel spurs, spinal osteophytes, or foot spurs, TCM can be an integral part of your treatment plan, offering a natural and holistic approach to long-term bone health.
*This article is for education from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine only. The education provided by this article is not approved by FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat and cure human diseases. It should not stop you from consulting with your physician for your medical conditions. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on Qi, which is an invisible force that usually cannot be observed by modern science. Because science focuses on testing ideas about the natural world with evidence obtained through observation, these aspects of acupuncture can’t be studied by science. Therefore acupuncture and Chinese herbs are often not supported by double-blind, randomized trials, and they are considered alternative medicine therapies in the United States.
