How Bad Was Tiger Woods’ Back Injury?
Image by Keith Allison CC BY-SA 2.0 from Wikimedia Commons
How Bad Was Tiger Woods’ Back Injury? Tiger Woods is a professional golfer who has won many tournaments, making him one of the most famous athletes in the world. Although Tiger Woods has the best golf career, he has also suffered from a wide range of injuries throughout the years.
The victory of Tiger Woods at the 2019 Mater tournament was a miracle for the professional golfer and a sigh of relief for his fans worldwide. Woods had previously undergone three spinal surgeries. Although surgical procedures relieved his back pain, his spine had become severely narrowed.
That’s why Tiger Woods’ underwent ALIF surgery. A reputable orthopedic surgeon performed the procedure to relieve his lower back and sciatic pain. In today’s article, we will answer: how bad was Tiger Woods’ back injury? We will also discuss the ALIF surgery that helped Tiger Woods. Read on!
How Bad Was Tiger Woods’ Back Injury?
Tiger Woods first experienced back pain in 2010. Doctors thought that Woods might have experienced a herniated disc. However, doctors did not confirm it. Woods underwent physical therapy and medications to relieve his back pain.
In 2014, Woods underwent microdiscectomy surgery to remove the disc portion that compressed one of the nerves in his spine. Although the surgery was successful, Woods underwent another one in the following year because his symptoms had appeared again. Woods underwent a follow-up surgery in the same year to stabilize his spine.
Three back surgeries had severely narrowed Woods’ lower-back disc, causing severe spinal pain and sciatica. The narrowing of the space in Woods’ spine disturbed the surrounding nerves and caused damage to the vertebrae in his lower back.
As a result, Woods had to withdraw from several major tournaments due to severe back pain, numbness, and tingling in the lumbar spine. Likewise, Woods experienced burning pain going into his buttocks and down into his legs. Weakness, cramping, and tingling sensations in his legs caused Woods to stay away from golf.
Tiger Woods Back Surgery for Sports
How Bad Was Tiger Woods’ Back Injury? Tiger Woods conducted thorough research and took medications to relieve his lower spine pain. However, conservative treatments, such as medications and physical therapy, failed to alleviate his lumbar spine pain. Because Tiger Woods had undergone three spinal procedures in the past, it was impossible to undergo another one posteriorly.
That’s why Tiger Woods discussed the problem with a reputable and experienced orthopedic surgeon. The surgeon recommended Woods undergo ALIF surgery. ALIF is a spinal fusion surgery to alleviate debilitating pain in his spine and legs. The surgeon removed the damaged disc between his L5 and S1 vertebrae.
Next, the health provider placed a bone graft material and closed the incision. The graft material fuses the vertebrae into a solid bone. ALIF surgery is a successful procedure that targets the lumbar spine.
According to MINT’s neurosurgeons, ALIF surgery can repair structural deformities, damage to the intervertebral discs, and vertebral instability. The surgery involves making a vertical incision in the front to reach the lumbar spine and perform the procedure.
Is ALIF the Right Back Surgery for Sports injuries?
ALIF is an optimal procedure for sports injuries. Like Tiger Woods, who relieved his lumbar spine pain via ALIF surgery, thousands of other patients also undergo this unique procedure to alleviate back pain. There are many benefits of ALIF surgery over other spinal fusion procedures. These include:
- Smaller incisions lead to less blood loss, less scarring, less postoperative pain, and shorter hospitals stays
- ALIF follows an interior approach that spares the delicate muscles and nerves in the lumbar spine
- The placement of fusion through the anterior approach is more successful than PLIF, TLIF, XLIF, and other fusion procedures
- ALIF surgery does not cause damage to the spinal nerves, protecting them from permanent damage
- The location of fusion leads to the spine’s natural compression and speeds up the healing process.
- ALIF surgery allows for less pain and a faster rehabilitation period
Why Choose MINT, Plano, TX?
MINT is a reliable neurosurgery clinic in Plano TX. We perform back surgery for sports injuries to ensure patients relieve their spinal pain quickly and effectively. MINT has a state-of-the-art facility equipped with advanced tools and equipment.
All our neurosurgeons are board-certified and fellowship-trained with many years of experience. The founder of MINT, Dr. Scott Kutz, specializes in various spinal surgeries to treat conditions like spinal instability, degenerative disc disease, spinal trauma, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, etc. How Bad Was Tiger Woods’ Back Injury? It was severe pain, but thanks to ALIF surgery, Woods relieved it quickly.
