Tiger Woods underwent his seventh back surgery on Friday. A day later, the 15-time major champion said he had undergone lumbar disc replacement and was already feeling the positive effects of the procedure.
“After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted doctors and surgeons for tests,” Woods said in a statement. “The scans showed that I had a collapsed intervertebral disc in L4/L5, fragments of the intervertebral disc and a compromised spinal canal. I opted to have my intervertebral disc replaced yesterday and already know that I made a good decision for my health and my back.”
Woods did not compete on the PGA Tour this past season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in March. No timetable was given for Woods’ possible return to competitive golf following his lumbar disc replacement, and several questions naturally arise surrounding Woods’ decision to undergo further back surgery.
Sports injury analyst and physical therapist Marty Jaramillo answered some of those questions about the procedure, recovery and Woods’ possible return to competitive golf.
WATCH JARAMILLO’S EXPLANATION HERE:
What surgery did Tiger Woods have on his back, and why?
“Why did Tiger Woods choose an artificial disc replacement?” Jaramillo said. “Let’s talk about the history and what led to that decision. Tiger suffered multiple back injuries, multiple hernias and all subsequent surgeries to repair those hernias.
“He really suffered at the level of L5, S1, the lowest level, where in 2017 he opted for spinal fusion at that level, with the implant hardware on both sides to decompress the nerves, add stability and support, but there is a trade-off with the hardware. Yes, you get a decrease in pain, but you lose a little bit of mobility, especially in rotation, sometimes up to 20 percent. It was extraordinary. successful and in 2019 Tiger won his fifth green jacket at the Masters.
“But like I said, the trade-off is fusion. Below that, there’s unnecessary stress on the disc levels above. Now L4, L5 is in play and he’s suffered a tremendous amount of stress and strain in the ensuing years, and in 2021 he had his fourth microdiscectomy to help repair L4 here now. Between the fourth microdiscectomy, then his horrific car accident and this year with the Achilles, and he’s still trying to compete and play at a high level, that disc at L4, L5 actually started to degenerate, develop bone spurs, and recompress the nerve endings.
“Now if he were to opt for a fusion that was successful, he would lose even more mobility and golf wouldn’t even be a question because he wouldn’t be able to compete and play at a high level. So, fast forward, we have this amazing new technology called an artificial disc. It’s still hardware where they removed the old disc. And implanted an artificial disc. It still provides a tremendous amount of support, stability and decompresses the nerves. But the hardware doesn’t limit the nerves. movement and that rotation is what you need to swing a golf club at a very high level and compete at a high level. So in Tiger’s case, he simply had no choice and the procedure has been perfected, and he had that procedure done last Friday at the hospital for a special surgery in New York.
What will be Tiger Woods’ recovery?
“So for the next two weeks, Tiger will be under strict orders to rest a lot and impose strict restrictions on movements such as twisting and bending,” Jaramillo said. “But he can also walk as much as he can tolerate. In weeks two to four, he implements a very progressive lumbar stabilization program and some mobility, keeping in mind that the disc replacement surgery needs to heal. The hardware still needs to fuse with the overlying and underlying bone, much like a fracture, and heal. But in weeks six to eight he has turned to aggressive strengthening at all levels of the golf swing and perfecting sport-specific movements.
Tiger Woods makes ‘good decision’ to undergo back surgery again, return is unclear
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Josh Schrock
“In the long term, any aging athlete has to follow a strict regimen and be very disciplined with both maintenance and recovery therapies. Tiger has been great at that over the years, as has LeBron, as has Tom Brady, but Tiger has had so many surgeries, so he has had to keep resetting those recovery and maintenance protocols a little bit, but still disciplined. He also has to have load management. It has to be full effect. here. He will likely have to limit his total number of tournaments, but also make smart decisions about both the climate and terrain of those tournaments.
When can Tiger Woods play competitive golf again?
While no timetable has been given for Woods’ return to the PGA Tour, Jaramillo is optimistic that Woods can return soon given how long it has been since his Achilles tendon surgery and the expected healing time for the lumbar disc replacement.
“Tiger Woods has the potential to play in his own Hero World Challenge and the PNC Championship, both tournaments taking place in December,” Jaramillo said. “By December he would have over eight months to recover from his Achilles tendon repair and almost six to eight weeks for his disc replacement, both within a good healing time frame, and be ready to go and be competitive for both tournaments as well.”
Tiger Woods’ long-term health problem
For Jaramillo, it’s not Tiger Woods’ back that is the biggest concern for extending his competitive career. It is the ankle problems that have predominated since his car accident in 2021.
“I’m not too worried about his back and this artificial disc,” he said. “I think he’s going to do very well. He’s going to compete at a high level.”
“My biggest concern for Tiger is his ankle after his horrific car accident,” Jaramillo said. “A few years after the accident, his ankle had to be fused to help limit the pain and minimize the pain. But what does it do? The fusion, like his 2017 lower back, limits movement, and in his case his ankle. He’s lost some rotation, which prevents him from adapting to uneven terrain on the golf course, and it’s really plagued him. You’ve seen it in recent years. During a four-day tournament, he’s been limping. gets worse. So I really think his ankle will be the speed bump that curtails his career.”
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