Tiger Woods’ Health After ALIF Surgery
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Tiger Woods’ health deteriorated in 2014 when he complained of painful sensations in his back. First, the doctors thought the pain was due to a herniated disc in the spine. However, it was not the case. Read on!
Tiger Woods’ Health
Initially, the diagnosis showed that a damaged disc in the spine was pinching his nerve in the back. He took medications and attended physical therapy sessions to overcome the issue. However, these treatments did not help him.
So, he was left with the option of surgery. Tiger underwent a microdiscectomy surgery in 2014 to relieve the pain caused by a pinched nerve. Although the surgery was successful, a year later, he complained of back pain again.
Therefore, he underwent another surgery in September 2015. One month later, he had undergone a follow-up surgery to further reduce the painful sensations. Both surgeries were successful and relieved pain in the back.
However, the surgeries had caused the narrowing of the disc in his lumbar spine. As a result, he started to feel the pain in his back. At the same time, he complained of pain in his leg, which was a sciatic pain caused by the damaged disc in the lumbar spine.
Spinal Fusion Surgery
There are many types of spinal fusion surgeries, such as PLIF, TLIF, XLIF, and ALIF surgery. The choice of spinal fusion surgery depends on the patient’s condition and other factors, such as the previously operated surgeries, age, and overall health.
Spinal fusion surgery, in general, requires the surgeon to approach the spine either from the back, the side, or the front. Again, it depends entirely on the patient’s condition. When it comes to Tiger Woods health, the surgeon “Dr. Richard Guyer” chose the ALIF surgery.
The reason behind choosing the ALIF surgery was to ensure avoiding damage to the muscles and tissues that surround the lumbar spine. Also, because Woods had previously undergone the microdiscectomy surgery, it was not wise to choose and perform the PLIF surgery.
Tiger Woods back problem was due to a damaged disc, which was between his L5 and S1. So, the surgeon made a small incision in the front to approach the L5-S1 joint and remove the disc. Once done, the surgeon placed a bone graft material to fuse the vertebrae. The fusion process takes a few months to join the bones.
ALIF Surgery and Rehabilitation
Tiger Woods is an amazing athlete and there is certainly no doubt about that. Many of his fans were waiting for his comeback and win championships. Tiger has millions of fans around the world. So, there is some kind of emotional relationship between him and his fans.
Here at MINT, we think that the ALIF surgery is a great procedure, but at the same time, the rehabilitation process is important to speed up the recovery. After the surgery, Tiger Woods rested for 6 to 8 months.
During the rehabilitation, Woods remain calm and followed the advice of his surgeon. Dr. Guyer advised him to perform a few basic exercises at home, such as standing, sitting, and walking, which would help stabilize his spine.
A physical therapist under the guidance of his surgeon helped Woods for 8 months to relieve pain and eliminate the discomfort. Woods was diligent in attending the physical therapy sessions.
As a result, he had a quick and smooth recovery from back and leg pain. ALIF surgery along with the postoperative rehabilitation is an excellent combo for those who want to get rid of back pain.
Moreover, the goal of ALIF surgery is to restrict the movement of damaged vertebrae in the spine. That’s why this procedure is considered favorable for athletes like Tiger Woods. So, we won’t be wrong to say that ALIF was an excellent choice for improving Tiger Woods’ health.
Comeback and Victory
Winning the 2019 Masters tournament was a dream come true for Tiger Woods and his fans. Yes, Tiger had won many titles before that, but this was special and emotional. The reason is that Tiger had not participated in any golf tournament for over two years.
His fans were desperately waiting for him to recover from back pain and do wonders. Thanks to the optimal Tiger Woods health due to a spinal fusion surgery like ALIF as well as the excellent rehabilitation, he won the 2019 Masters tournament.
Here at MINT, we believe that ALIF surgery can do wonders for those who have an active lifestyle. If you have back pain, degenerated disc, sciatica, etc. and want to improve your condition like Tiger Woods health, contact MINT today.