Osteophytes (bone spurs) are bony growths that form on joints when cushioning cartilage in between bones breaks down. Typical causes include aging wear-and-tear, poor posture and physical injury. Bone spurs are actually smooth growths that usually do not cause symptoms, but sometimes large spurs can physically compress nerves and cause symptoms including stiffness, pain, weakness, tingling or numbness. Disc osteophyte complex is a term used on MRI to denote the presence of disc changes (e.g. bulging, protrusion) in conjunction with osteophytes resulting in narrowing of the spinal canal (the space where the spinal cord runs through the spine).
Spondylolysis is a crack or stress fracture in the vertebrae (spine bone). It is usually caused by repeated stress on the lower back (e.g. weight lifting). Spondylolysis is usually asymptomatic (does not cause symptoms) but when symptoms do occur, low back pain is the most common presentation. The pain may spread across the lower back and/or radiate to the buttocks and to the back of the thighs, and may feel like a muscle strain. The pain is generally worse with vigorous exercise or activity and improves with rest.
Commonly known as a pinched nerve, radiculopathy is injury or damage to nerve roots at the level where they exit the spine. This can lead to symptoms of pain, numbness, tingling or weakness.
The spine consists of alternating spine bones (vertebrae) and cartilage discs. A Schmorl's node is an upward or downward pushing of the cartilage disc into the adjacent vertebrae. Schmorl's nodes are most common in the middle and lower spine. They usually cause no symptoms and reflect wear-and-tear of the spine that has occurred over time or could be due to trauma (e.g. car accident).
Sometimes during fetal development a vertebra (spine bone) does not fuse together properly, ending slightly wider than a normal vertebra and appearing like a “butterfly” on radiological imaging. This is a normal variant and not cancerous. “Butterfly” vertebra can make the affected area more prone to chronic back pain.
A vertebral compression deformity (fracture) describes vertical collapse of the spine bone. This is commonly caused by past trauma such as a car accident, sports injury or a hard fall. Symptoms of a subacute compression fracture include back pain, an increase in pain intensity while standing or walking as well as difficulty bending over or sitting.
