Bone spurs are bony projections that develop along bone edges. Bone spurs (osteophytes) often form where bones meet each other — such as in shoulder joints. Learn more about Mayo Clinic's approach to care. https://mayocl.in/2Ouxr0d | Mayo Clinic

If your spine MRI says “disc osteophyte complex,” do not chalk it up to “just aging.” This is a targeted repair response to microinstability. As discs lose proteoglycans they dehydrate, lose height, and develop annular fissures; load shifts to the vertebral rim, endplates, uncovertebral joints, and facets. The spine tries to stabilize by laying down fibrocartilage that ossifies into marginal bone spurs (endochondral ossification). Paired with a bulging or herniated disc, those osteophytes can na