Bone Spurs and Cysts
What are bone spurs and cysts?
Bone spurs are sharp spikes of bone that form at the margins of joints with arthritis. Sometimes you can actually fell the bone spur as a hard lump under the skin. Bone spurs can happen on wrists, hands, thumbs, and on other joints.
Understanding bone spurs and cysts
Bone cysts are just small holes or cavities that form inside the bone around arthritic joints. They also sometimes form spontaneously in healthy bone. These can’t be felt but are detectable on x-ray.
Arthritis literally means “inflamed joint”, and generally refers to any damage to the joints of the body. There are 36 joints in the hand and wrist, and several sites that commonly affected by arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common type and is a degenerative breakdown of the joints over time.
The CMC joint at the base of the thumb is commonly affected. Less common forms of arthritis include damage to the joint due to injuries (post-traumatic arthritis), and inflammatory arthritis (rheumatoid, gout, psoriatic).
Overview
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