Tiger Woods’ Sacroiliac Joint Pain
Tiger Woods’ sacroiliac joint pain made him refrain from golf for a few years. He is one of the most popular and professional golfers who has won many international titles. However, a few years ago, his back pain caused serious trouble for him. Many of Tiger’s fans were disappointed and worried for him.
Sacroiliac joint pain is something our professional doctors and surgeons see every day in our Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery of Texas health center. It has been a popular topic due to the Tiger Woods’ sacroiliac joint injury over the past couple of years.
If you are a Tiger Woods fan, you may have heard about his sacrum, which popped out during the Bridgestone Championship. Although the doctors had quickly fixed the popped sacrum back into the place, it did not work for him. If you remember, he could play the major rounds. This was very disappointing for his fans.
Tiger Woods’ Sacroiliac Joint Pain
In general, the sacroiliac joins are linked between the lower spine and the pelvis. The tailbone, also known as the sacrum, connects on the left and right sides of the pelvis bone. The pelvis bone is usually called ilia.
Therefore, you have two sacroiliac joints in the body – one on the right and the other one on the left side. Typically, these joints are stable. A few strong and thick ligaments support these joints. These ligaments also support and provide stability to the structures, which attach the pelvis at the front and back.
The sacroiliac joints allow a few millimeters of movement. In some cases, for instance, in pregnancy, a laxity of such a supportive structure can cause excessive movement around these joints.
In Woods’ case, L4/5 is the area above the fusion. Pain on the side would slowly radiate to the buttock area. Tiger felt like the pain is in the hip. However, there was no weakness or numbness.
When the surgery is performed through the belly region to reach the spinal area, like Tiger’s, the joints in the back area of the spine do not heal completely. This is the situation with 95% of patients. This means that the L5/S1 facet joint was the source of his pain.
Below the fusion of the L5 to the S1 is the sacroiliac joint, which is an unusual joint that helps a pregnant woman to open her pelvis for the head of the baby to pass in childbirth. Usually, pain from this joint is lower than low back pain. This means a patient will feel that the pain is in the buttock area.
Lumbar Interbody Fusion – The Sacroiliac joint pain treatment
Tiger Woods had a few quick fixes, physical therapy, injections, and medications. All of these conservative treatments didn’t work for him. This is why he went for lumbar interbody fusion surgery. The Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery of Texas recommends the Sacroiliac joint pain treatment like Lumbar Interbody Fusion when you have the following symptoms.
If you have a serious hip, groin, or low back pain, which causes difficulty in maintaining an active lifestyle and everyday function, then you may need to undergo this type of surgery.
On-sided low back pain is the indication that the pain is generated by the SI joint. Typically, pain is confined to the pelvis and the lower back. However, it radiates down to the leg and buttock area. The pain that radiates to the leg is known as sciatica.
You need Lumbar Interbody Fusion, which is an advanced and effective sacroiliac joint pain treatment. For instance, instability in the lower back and the pelvis that cause difficulty or pain when you stand, walk, or move from sitting position to standing position, you may undergo this type of treatment because other treatments have failed.
Why Lumbar Interbody Fusion?
Just like Tiger Woods’ sacroiliac, joint pain was relieved through minimally invasive procedures, the lumbar interbody fusion, or more specifically, the sacroiliac joint fusion is a surgery that involves grafting to the ilium on one or both sides of sacrum. The purpose of the surgery is to make bone growth across the joint.
The process of fusion occurs when the bone starts healing after the surgery. Usually, the surgeon uses the bone graft or implanted instrumentation to fix the issue. Moreover, the minimally invasive procedure is the most common method and an effective sacroiliac joint pain treatment that involves sacroiliac joint fusion.
The process involves making a small incision in the buttock. So, just like Tiger Woods’ sacroiliac joint pain treatment, which was performed through the minimally invasive procedure, you can contact the Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery of Texas and consult the highly qualified surgeons before they prescribe you this type of treatment.
