Sports Injuries and Back Pain – Tiger’s Golfing Experience
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Sports injuries and back pain go side by side. Exercise is important for your overall health and wellbeing. It is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle, leading to improved physical and mental health. Sports are an excellent way to exercise your body, but it also poses some risks such as injuries and back pain. Sports injuries and back pain often result from running, swimming, weight lifting, soccer, bicycling, skiing, tennis, and golf.
Tiger Woods Sports Injuries and Back Pain
Tiger Woods withdrew from a major golf tournament in May 2010 during the final round because he felt tingling sensations in his right side. Doctors suspected that Wood might have suffered from a herniated disc. However, Woods didn’t undergo any diagnostic procedures. So, it was never confirmed.
A few years later, in August 2013, the champion golfer complained of a stiff neck during the ninth hole of a tournament. Woods dropped to the ground during the thirteenth hole. Tiger said that the soft mattress in his hotel room had caused the pain.
One year later, in March 2014, Tiger Woods withdrew from the Honda Classic golf tournament due to sports injuries and back pain. Woods’ stance, movements, and stretching while playing golf clearly showed that he had back pain.
In April 2014, Tiger Woods underwent a microdiscectomy procedure to relieve a pinched nerve that caused pain in his back. That’s why Wood did not participate in the Masters’ tournament. However, Woods planned to participate in summer again.
One year later, Woods underwent his second microdiscectomy surgery to relieve back pain. Besides, Woods underwent follow-up surgery to stabilize his spine. A microdiscectomy procedure is an effective surgery to treat a herniated disc.
Woods had a herniated disc that compressed his nerve and caused discomfort and pain. The procedure involved removing a herniated disc from Woods’ back. The surgeon used a special microscope to view the damaged disc and surrounding area. Continue reading!
Sports Injuries and Back Pain – ALIF Surgery
Although Tiger Woods had relieved his back pain after microdiscectomy surgeries, he suffered from pain in his lumbar spine and legs (sciatica). Woods took medication, perform the exercise and physical therapy to treat the pain.
However, these treatments fail to relieve his pain. That’s why Woods consulted his surgeon, who recommended ALIF surgery. Woods’ surgeon recommended ALIF surgery because Tiger had undergone three surgeries previously from a posterior approach.
Another surgery using the posterior approach would have further narrowed down his spinal structures, leading to complications. That’s why it was better to perform ALIF surgery to treat sports injuries and back pain.
The surgeon made a small incision in Tiger’s belly to approach his lumbar spine. Then, the surgeon removed the damaged disc between L5 and S1 and placed a bone graft material that would fuse to stabilize Woods’ spine.
Benefits of ALIF Surgery for Sports Injuries
ALIF is equally beneficial for sports injuries and back pain. Like Tiger Woods, you can also benefit from this innovative approach at MINT, a reputable neurosurgery clinic in Plano, TX, with experienced neurosurgeons who work under the guidance of Dr. Scott Kutz.
There are many benefits of ALIF surgery for sports injuries and back pain, especially for people with an active lifestyle like Tiger Woods. The primary benefit of ALIF surgery is that it allows the surgeon to make an accurate incision and approach the spine without damaging the surrounding muscles, tissues, and nerves.
ALIF is a well-tolerated surgery, leading to reduced pain, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery. Unlike PLIF, XLIF, TLIF, and other fusion surgeries, ALIF allows the surgeon to place a much large cage, providing more stability and increasing chances of fusing the two bones in the lumbar spine.
MINT’s qualified neurosurgeons use this technique to treat a wide range of spinal conditions, including fractured vertebrae, degenerated discs, abnormal spinal curvature, scoliosis, kyphosis, spondylolisthesis, and other spinal conditions.
Contact MINT Today
Tiger Woods is one of the best players in professional golf who has won many tournaments. Woods had experienced sports injuries and back pain in most of his career. Woods finally won the 2019’s Masters Tournament after undergoing ALIF surgery and a rehabilitation period of six months.
If you have back pain and conservative treatment options have failed, you can undergo minimally invasive surgery for sports injuries and back pain. Contact MINT today and schedule your appointment with our qualified neurosurgeon.