Tiger Woods’ Spinal Surgery Plano TX
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Tiger Woods’ spinal surgery in Plano TX, is a minimally invasive surgery that requires the surgeon to remove the damaged disc and place the bone graft material. The graft fuses the two bones into a single bone over time and helps relieve the pain. MIS is an effective back pain treatment for various spinal conditions, such as degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, herniated disc, sciatica, etc.
Tiger Woods Back Pain Timeline
Tiger Woods is one of the most popular golfers with millions of fans in the U.S and other countries of the world. Woods has seen many ups and downs in his long, illustrious career. Next, we will discuss Tiger Woods’ back pain and the treatment he underwent to treat his painful condition.
In March 2014, Tiger Woods withdrew from the Honda Classic Tournament, complaining of lower back spasms. A month later, in April 2014, Wood announced that he would not participate in the Masters for the first time in his professional career. Tiger revealed that he recently underwent back surgery to treat a pinched nerve in his spine. The surgeons performed microdiscectomy surgery to treat his back pain.
In September 2015, Woods underwent a second microdiscectomy procedure. About a month after his second spinal surgery, Woods announced he underwent follow-up surgery to relieve discomfort in the back. Dr. Charles Rich performed the procedures. He is the same surgeon who performed the two previous procedures. In February 2017, Tiger withdrew from the second round of the Dubai Classic Tournament, citing back spasms.
Tiger Woods’ Spinal Surgery in Plano TX
Tiger Woods’ spinal surgery (ALIF) allowed him to win the 2019 Masters tournament. It was no less than a miracle for Woods and his fans. As mentioned above, Tiger had previously undergone three surgeries to relieve pain in his lumbar spine. He had a severely narrowed disc that led to pain in his lower back and leg. Conservative treatments that include medications and physical therapy were not working to relieve pain.
In April 2017, Tiger Woods announced that he would undergo a minimally invasive spine surgery known as the ALIF on his official website. Dr. Richard Guyer performed the surgery. Dr. Guyer approached the lower spine through an incision made in the front. He removes a degenerated disc between L5 (the last lumbar vertebra) and S1 (the top of the sacrum). The surgeon placed the bone graft material between L5 and S1 and restored the alignment between them.
The surgeon chose the ALIF procedure because Tiger Woods had three back surgeries previously. The main reason behind choosing the ALIF method is that this surgery involves making an incision in the abdomen that allows the surgeon to approach the spine without disturbing the surrounding muscles, tissues, and nerves. Research shows that this type of surgery method is more suitable for people with an active lifestyle. The preservation of back muscles, ligaments, tissues, and nerves has many benefits, especially for active lifestyles.
Benefits of ALIF Surgery
ALIF surgery is an effective back pain treatment. It requires the surgeon to reach the lumbar spine by making a small incision in the front. Unlike PLIF that requires making the incision in the back, ALIF is a more effective procedure because it does not harm the muscles, tissues, and nerves in the surrounding areas. That’s the reason Dr. Richard Guyer selected ALIF, which is the best Tiger Woods Spinal Surgery in Plano TX. It is a well-tolerated procedure that does not cause a lot of pain.
ALIF is often associated with a faster recovery than traditional open-back and other types of spinal fusion surgeries. Unlike PLIF, XLIF, and LLIF, ALIF allows the surgeon to place a much larger cage in the back, providing more strength and stability to the spine. Another benefit of ALIF is that the fusion of two bones occurs fast and effectively.
Likewise, the surgery allows better correction of spinal imbalance and deformity. Thus, it is an effective treatment for long-term pain relief, a better quality of life, and reduced spinal problems. Our surgeons use Tiger Woods Spinal Surgery in Plano TX as a back pain treatment for instability, spinal imbalance or deformity, disc degeneration, and spondylolisthesis at MINT.
The success rate for minimally invasive spine surgery, such as ALIF at MINT, is over 97%. Our surgeons are well-trained, qualified, licensed, and experienced. We have performed hundreds of back pain surgeries, including ALIF, PLIF, XLIF, Microdiscectomy, Laminectomy, and others. If you are suffering from severe back pain and conservative treatments have failed to provide relief, you can contact MINT for Tiger Woods’ spinal surgery in Plano TX.
