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Before we can examine a few minimally invasive techniques used to treat bone spurs we should try to understand what a bone spur is. Bone spurs are the enlargement of your normal bone structure protruding into your spine and are often referred to as osteophytes. Spurs occur in other parts of your body, but for our purposes we will only refer to spinal bone spurs. A bone spur resembles nothing close to a traditional cowboy boot spur, instead the spur is a smooth structure formed and pulled over time by muscle spasms. Your body uses muscle spasms as protective measures to help prevent further injury from any number of causes.
Tendons hold your muscle to your bone and ligaments hold your bone to bone. Over time these tendons and ligaments can start to pull your bone away from where it is supposed to be, which creates bone spurs. A bone will conform to any pressure that is applied to it. Nerve pain can be caused as a bone spur grows and forms impinging on the affected nerve with debilitating symptoms.
Nerve impingement caused by bone spurs in the spinal column of your neck or back can lead to severe pain, restricted movement, radiating arm and leg pain, along with weakness in the patients extremities, tingling, numbness, and in some cases, disability.
Now that we understand what a bone spur is, let’s take a look at two minimally invasive forms of neck spur surgery. This minimally invasive approach is achieved through the use of an arthroscopic approach without the need for general anesthesia and may be performed in an outpatient surgical setting.
Foraminotomy
This medical operation is used to relieve pressure being place on nerves compressed by the intervertebral foramen. Your nerve roots exit the spinal canal through the intervertebral foramen. The word Foraminotomy is derived from the Latin words foramen, meaning hole, opening, aperture and otomy meaning, act of cutting, incision.
In cases where the foramen is being compressed by bone, disc, scar tissue, or excessive ligament development a foraminotomy can be preformed to relieve these symptoms that result in a pinched nerve.
Conditions that a Foraminotomy can be used to treat:
- Foraminal stenosis
- Herniated disc
- Scar tissue formation
- Sciatica
- Bulging disc
- Pinched nerve
- Arthritis in the spine
- Bone spurs
Laminotomy
A Laminotomy uses an arthroscopic approach to minimally invasive neck spur surgery by opening up the spinal canal without the need for general anesthesia in an outpatient surgical setting. A Laminotomy is not a Laminectomy.
This surgical procedure is used to relieve pressure on the spinal canal for exiting nerve roots and the spinal cord. A laminotomy will increase the amount of space available to the neural tissue releasing the nerve.
Laminotomy is derived from the Latin words lamina, which is the bony plate that covers the posterior arch of the vertebrae) and otomy, which is the act of cutting, incision.
You can treat the following conditions with a laminotomy procedure:
- Bone spurs
- Herniated disc
- Scar tissue formation
- Pinched nerve
- Spinal stenosis
- Arthritis of the spine
- Bulging disc