Tiger Woods Spine Surgery
Category: Spine, Spine Surgery | Author: Stefano Sinicropi
Tiger Woods has had a slew of medical issues in recent years – an Achilles tendon injury, an elbow injury, and most recently a back injury. A few months ago Woods had minimally invasive surgery to improve his back. Now, according to Woods himself, he feels better than he has in years.
The Surgery
Back in March, Woods underwent microdiscectomy surgery on his spine to free up a pinched nerve in his spine. In this procedure a spinal surgeon removes a portion of the vertebra or spinal disc so that the nerve is no longer impacted. Before the procedure Woods could not even make a full golf swing.
“Prior to the surgery, I didn’t think I would have much of a playing career if I felt like this because … I couldn’t get out of bed,” Woods said last week. “Now that I’ve had the procedure, I’m excited about what the prospects hold, that I’m able to feel this way, and if that’s the case, then I’m excited about my career.”
Recovery
As with most minimally invasive back surgeries, it is the incision that hurts following surgery. The best way to recover from this is to allow the body everything it needs to heal itself. That means a lot of rest, coupled with pain medication, and limiting movements. Once the pain is bearable, the patient should slowly begin implementing physical therapy exercises to gradually return to their former functionality.
Woods ultimately hopes to return to the game for the final chapter of his golf career and to try and catch Jack Niklaus’s major tournament winning record. Whether he will be able to remains to be seen. But it is clear that the spine surgery he underwent has given him another chance to beat that record.
Related Source:
http://www.sbnation.com/golf/2014/5/20/5732408/tiger-woods-back-injury-update-us-open-2014-pinehurst
