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When you picture a bone spur most people would assume that they are some form of jagged material. This couldn’t be any further from the truth. A bone spur is a smooth bony growth that tends to occur over a long period of time as we age. The bone spur itself is not painful, but the effect that it has on nearby structures such as nerves or the spinal cord can be.
Behind each spinal disc and under each joint there are openings that allow nerve roots to leave the spinal cord to go to other parts of the body. The opening known as the foramen, that encloses the nerve is just large enough for the nerve to pass through.
When bone spurs develop in the foramen they become a problem by making the opening narrower and pressing on the nerve. This is one of the causes of the back pain associated with bone spurs.