What are bone spurs? Bone spurs are bony growths that can occur on the bones that form your body’s joints. While the word “spur” might make it sound like these growths are pointed and sharp, they are actually smooth in many cases. However, that does not mean that they cannot be painful. Bone spurs often grow around the joints, which can cause the affected bone to rub against other bones, muscles, tendons and nerves. This often makes it difficult to move or bend the joint due to pain, stiffness and swelling.
Bone spurs often occur as a result of overuse or injury. When a bone is injured, the body overcompensates by causing more bone tissue to grow in the affected area. This is why bone spurs often occur in the elbows, hands, spine and other areas that are subject to a lot of movement. If you are experiencing bone spurs in your elbow, you may be finding many tasks to be more difficult. That’s why it’s a good idea to seek help from a physical therapist to treat your elbow bone spur.
What can physical therapy do to treat bone spurs in my elbow?
Thankfully, bone spurs are a condition that can be treated with the help of physical therapy. A physical therapist can assist in reducing the pain and swelling caused by the bone spurs in your elbow. They can also help restore your full range of motion that may have become limited due to bone spurs. Here are three ways that physical therapy can treat bone spurs:
- Joint mobilization — A physical therapist can mobilize stiff and painful joints using this form of hands-on therapy. Joint mobilization involves your physical therapist moving the affected joints using the skilled application of force and direction to restore movement.
- Soft tissue mobilization — This form of manual therapy can help to break up scar tissue that may have formed around your bone spurs. It also increases the circulation to the area. This technique can also restore flexibility and reduce pain in your elbow resulting from bone spurs.
- Electrical stimulation — Your physical therapist can use specialized equipment to deliver electrical pulses to your stiff and aching joints. When they do this, it’s called electrical stimulation. This not only helps relieve pain, but it also helps to decrease swelling and increase circulation in the area. It can also treat muscle spasms that you may experience as a result of bone spurs.
Where can I turn for physical therapy in my area?
If you are looking for trusted physical therapy in the western Pennsylvania area, look no further than Panther Physical Therapy. With convenient clinics located in Wexford, Harmony and Allison Park, we provide the highest standards of care for our physical therapy patients. Our team of licensed physical therapy specialists are ready and willing to help treat your pain from bone spurs in your elbow.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.