do osteophytes continue to grow?

[sahuaro]

I just had an appointment with a neurologist today who is convinced that my injuries are what they are and won't progress and therefore I should not have surgery. He is insisting that the osteophytes will not continue to grow. Is this true? Now I am really confused! I had envisioned them creeping along my damaged disk (sort of like a fungus) until they reached my spinal cord... Info and opinions would really help!! Thanks.

[KL Aguilar]

Mine grew. It is easy to see by looking at my MRIs over time.

[mmglobal]

Hey everyone... sorry I've been mostly gone over the last couple of months. It's been grueling, but I'm back and will be back for most of July... I hope to catch up and address all of the posts I have missed.

I have large osteophytes at c5-6-7. 3 years ago, Bertagnoli cautioned that if they get too big, I'll lose the option to do ADR. Because of the shape of the tools, they can't get far down the backside of the vertebral body to get to the osteophyte without compromising the endplate. I'll try to add some pictures... but I'll finish the post first.

When asked if I should do ADR now because if I wait, I may lose the option, he replied, "no". Since my symptoms don't justify doing surgery yet, I should not have 'preemptive' surgery, but I should do at least a yearly MRI and watch the situation, so if it looks like it's going bad... I can react quicker. My last MRI was March 2006 and it hadn't noticeably from a year prior. I am due for another MRI and have just been too busy... but hope to get one this summer. We'll see.

So, I think that in some configurations, osteophytes will continue to grow... I've seen them continue to progress... first they look like bracket funghi on a tree stump. They may turn a corner and progress towards it's partner across the disc space. Then they'll bridge the gap and will look more like a fusion than a fungus. I've seen this a lot with so-called 'claw osteophytes' on the anterior side of the disc.

In my case, they don't seem to be growing (at this time)... ask me after my next MRI.

Mark

[Alastair]

Osteophytes grow, because usually it is your body feeling that the spine, or that area of your body is not supported sufficiently at that point.

After ADR, obviously some of the bone tissue has been taken away because they scrape the flat surfaces of the vertebrae, where they implant is going to be until it bleeds. Hence you have got to think your body suddenly shouts "hello" what is going on here, and decides to grow some more bone to support what has been going on.

Unfortunately bodies don't have 50-50 vision, and we sometimes get osteophytes in the wrong place. They can be dealt with and special cement put over where they had been removed so they don't re grow. This is a very simplistic explanation and I have got a huge article about it from Medscape but I don't think it would fit on a page here.
Best,
Alastair

[Maria]

I've an appt. for my cervical spine on July 2nd with my regular OSS who I haven't seen in a year for my neck and almost as long for my low back (seen by other OSS who was authorized to do my spine surgery).

Ok, last cervical MRI done several years ago at least had osteophytes. Am going to ask for updated cervical MRI~ I hope these things aren't growing/causing probs anymore than anything else in the cervical spine.

BTW, danced and exercised yesterday for nearly an hour at home and today my low back is like I better walk on egg shells!

Who me need surgery?

[sahuaro]

Thanks, everyone! This whole process is absolutely crazy-making. And I wasn't totally off the wall in envisioning my osteophytes as fungus!
Just to be sure: am I right, Mark, that the implication of your post is that even if osteophytes don't show growth for a while, there is the possibility that they will begin to enlarge and therefore, need to be monitored by repeat MRI's?

[Alastair]

Folks, I have investigated osteophytes for many years, and that some can appear trouble some and they are not the cause of the problem, and some appear quite innocent yet are the pain generators. I like to work on the principle that Zeegers does, that the patient is always right, where the patient points or feels pain in an area that is painful, then that is usually the case.

Monitoring Oseophytes maybe on an annual basis is a good principal to work on. Just because there is an Osteophyte there is no need to get it seen to. They grow and can stop growing and vice versa.

I am sure you are aware that bone wax should be no longer used.
Best
Alastair

[nopain]

Your spine may stabilize which would mean they stop growing as they have done their job.

The more likely scenario (Brought on by age) is your injured spine will continue to degenerate slowly and your body will continue to try and repair this problem by depositing more material to the bone spur.

So it's not impossible that yours could stop, but from everything I have read it is more likely to continue.

If we lived to be 200 we would all have almost no disc material left at all. That's the sad reality. The best case scenario for everyone is to not have any symptoms from spinal degeneration as we age. Unfortunately again that doesn't seem to be the case with approximatley 20% of the population escaping it.

[mmglobal]

Kind of like, "I'm not fat... I'm just too short for my weight."

"I don't have DDD, I 'm just too old for my discs!"

[mmglobal]

Originally Posted by Alastair

I am sure you are aware that bone wax should be no longer used.

Alastiar... please explain?

Mark

[fortitudine]

Another reason to watch osteophytes is that as they grow they can press on the spinal cord without causing pain, but causing other symptoms. I had some symptoms, got an MRI and found out that I had mild to moderate cord compression at c3/4/5. Symptoms went away. I have been having regular MRIs every 6 months to a year for 3 1/2 years now. I sure don't want to get to the point where I can't get ADR.