Cysts and spurs are created by the knee joint bones trying to heal themselves from the arthritic process.
Page updated July 2023 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)
This Primer explains how joint (articular) cartilage damage can lead to osteoarthritis in the knee.
- Introduction to arthritis
- Types of arthritis
- The common arthritis pathway
- How knee arthritis progresses
- What's special about hyaline (articular) cartilage?
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Arthritis cysts and spurs
- Joint injections for knee arthritis
- The concept of arthritis compartments
- Classifying the amount of cartilage damage
- Knee X-rays and arthritis
Bony cysts and spurs are a common feature of more advanced knee arthritis.
The way that cysts and spurs come about is that the disordered bone tries to desperately heal the damage in its joint surface. Bone is dissolved (resorbed) from some areas and built up in others, but in a disordered way, leaving holes in some places and heaped up areas in others - cysts and spurs. The cysts and spurs contribute to joint deformity and can cause problems in their own right.
Bone spurs may not be symptomatic, but often they are tender when the skin is rubbed over them, and they may cause irritation of other tissues in contact with the spur.
The significance of cysts and spurs
Cysts and spurs can be easily seen on X-ray and give the surgeon a clue that the joint destruction is becoming advanced.
Generally that is their real significance, but sometimes surgical removal of a symptomatic spur is warranted to provide relief from local symptoms.
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