Pain-Free Tiger Woods Struggles at PGA Championship

August 7, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Tiger Woods felt fine physically during his opening round at the PGA Championship today, but his golf game wasn’t up to par with his body as he shot a first round 74 to finish Thursday at +3.

After his exit at the Bridgestone Invitational last week, many wondered if Tiger would attempt to play in golf’s final major. Woods arrived to the tournament Wednesday morning in time to get a practice round in, telling reporters after the round he felt “pain-free.”

“I felt pretty good about how I played and the shots I hit,” Woods said of Wednesday’s practice round. “I have to get used to how this golf course is playing.”

Woods looked a little flustered by the course on Thursday, shooting +1 on the back nine and +2 on the front. Currently he sits nine strokes behind Lee Westwood and Kevin Chappell, who both carded an opening round 65.

Back to His Back

Woods opened up about the back injury he suffered at Bridgestone during Wednesday’s press conference. He said he jarred his back when he stepped into a bunker and displaced his sacrum bone.

“Yeah, basically when I landed in the bunker, my sacrum went out,” Woods said. “So pinched the nerve, and hence the spasm. My physio put it back in, and we’ve just been treating it.”

Woods added that he still needs to build strength in his ailing back.

“My physio is here,” he said. “If it does go out, he’s able to fix it. One of those things, again, I still need to build strength, still continue to get stronger. Just going to take more time.”

Woods also noted that his sacrum issue was unrelated to the microdiscetomy operation he underwent on March 31 to address a pinched nerve.

“It was a different pain than what I had been experiencing, so I knew it wasn’t the site of the surgery,” Woods said. “It was different, and obviously it was just the sacrum.”

Woods said he took anti-inflammatory medication prior to his practice round, but he didn’t take any pain meds or receive a cortisone shot. He’ll try to end up on the right side of the cut line when he tees off Friday at 1:45 pm ET.

Related source: ESPN, USA Today

Tiger Woods Is Past His Prime

August 5, 2014February 17, 2016 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Tiger Woods is an excellent athlete who has strived to stay in the best of condition, but unfortunately he is no longer in his prime. To be a top-notch athlete, one needs to be able to perform without distraction and have a perfectly tuned body. Tiger is no longer 25 years old and in perfect health. Today, there are many professional golfers who are younger and in better health. A 25-year-old Woods may be better than a 25-year-old Rory McIlroy, but Woods doesn’t have the luxury of a time machine. The injuries that Tiger has had are not going to heal perfectly and his performance is clearly in decline.

Tiger Woods is now 38 years old and he is certainly past his prime. Woods has had significant knee surgeries and recently underwent a Microdiscectomy for a lumbar disc protrusion in his back. The body and all its parts age and show signs of wear in everybody. Typically by the age of 30, there are often subtle changes in the spine and joints as we stress them. The cartilage in the knee joints can show changes, and in the spine the discs bulge, tear, and show degeneration. By age 40, everyone has different signs of deterioration throughout the body. The design of the body is such that we can do most activities well until about age 40. 150 years ago, it was typical that people would die due to trauma, disease, infections, or even heart problems by age 40-50 years. Today, we are outliving the design of our body since we have better medical care.

The difference between amateur and professional athletes is the level of perfection they achieve in their sport. Physically, to achieve that level of perfection, everything in the body must be in perfect shape. A slight abnormality in the body sometimes can be compensated for, but often the level of ability is diminished. Today, the difference between the best athletes and an average athlete is the ability to do everything in a sport without compromise. Tiger’s back and knee injuries are forcing him to compromise. Tiger may be able to golf and occasionally win, but he will not be a future force and consistent top contender.

PGA Championship in Doubt

Woods was forced to withdraw from last week’s Bridgestone Invitational after suffering another setback with his surgically repaired back. The injury occurred as Woods took a step into a bunker on the 9th hole, and he withdrew from competition shortly thereafter. Some speculate that Tiger only withdrew because he was out of contention and didn’t want to jeopardize his chance to play in golf’s final major of the year this week at the PGA Championship, but his absence from the course Tuesday shows that something is clearly wrong with Woods.

Woods’ agent said the 38-year-old was at his home in Florida resting, but Tiger’s caddie went to the tournament to scout the course in case he decides to play, so there’s still a chance the 14-time major winner will chase another tour victory this week. We should know more about his status by the end of the day Wednesday. We’ll provide an update once more is known.

Tiger Woods Dealing With Back Spasms

March 10, 2014June 24, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Back pain affects 80% of the population at some point in their life. Tiger Woods has joined the rest of us normal people and now has back pain. Unfortunately, Tiger needs his back to be working correctly to in order to play golf at the highest level. He withdrew from a tournament last weekend, and this past tournament he struggled on Sunday after re-injuring his back. Woods spoke about the pain after the tournament.

“It is back spasms, so we’ve done all the protocols and it’s just a matter of keeping everything aligned so I don’t go into that,” said Woods. “If I feel good, I can actually make a pretty decent swing. You saw it (Saturday). I actually can make some good swings and shoot a good score, but if I’m feeling like this, it’s a little tough. It’s the same thing … it flares up. It’s just a matter of keeping it calm, and we had a quick turnaround from last week. … It will be nice to take this week off and get everything ready for Bay Hill.”

Most likely, Tiger strained some muscles, or possibly irritated a disc or joints in the low back. An irritated back will develop muscle spasms, and these spasms are painful and reduce the ability to move. All of us who have strained our back and have had this problem know how hard it is to move. Walking is difficult, and bending, lifting, and twisting is even harder. Add in the fact that he has to walk the length of the course and swing a golf club – it’s no wonder he had troubles.

Tiger Woods is likely getting the most aggressive treatment to resolve the low back strain causing muscle spasms. Treatment choices are numerous, but most likely include medications that reduce muscle spasms and aggressively influence healing. Likely he is receiving prednisone, a very powerful anti-inflammatory medication that may facilitate more rapid healing. Additionally, medications for muscle spasms and traditional anti-inflammatory medications like Ibuprofen or naproxen may be used. Intense physical therapy is also likely being used to improve movement and decrease the muscle spasms.

Professional golf requires Tiger Woods to be in perfect physical and mental shape to hit the ball adequately. Unless he is at 100%, it is unlikely that he can play at a competitive level. He needs to be mentally alert to judge all variables to make any shot and to concentrate, and many of the medications for spasms have some decrease in mental awareness. Physically, any muscle spasms in his back will change his swing slightly and prevent him from making the shot he wants.

Muscle strains and sprains in the back can resolve quickly if treated correctly and aggressively. Unfortunately, many times it takes a lot of work to control back spasms. Hopefully, Tiger will be lucky and he will heal quickly. He needs to be 100%, especially with The Masters looming next month. Golf’s first major is Tiger’s biggest priority at this point, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he withdrew or skipped other tournaments leading up to The Master in order to put his back in the best possible shape in his quest for another green jacket.

Related source: USA Today