GOLF NEWS:AFTER AN MRI on Wednesday in Orlando, it was determined Tiger Woods has an inflamed facet joint in his neck. When the facet joints are inflamed, it causes pain in the affected area as well as headaches and difficulty rotating the head.
“I want to thank everyone for their caring and concern,” Woods said. “I now need to take care of this condition and will return to playing golf when Im physically able.”
Physical therapy, including soft-tissue massage, rest and anti-inflammatory medicine will be used to treat the injury. The prognosis for Woods is a full recovery, although a return date to competitive golf is contingent on how quickly the condition heals. The layoff is not expected to be extensive but can vary.
Woods is unlikely to experience any long-term problems because of his lingering neck pain and could feel better by next week, medical experts said yesterday. World number one Woods was forced to withdraw from the final round of last week’s Players Championship in Florida.
“For Tiger to pull out in the final round, there must have been considerable pain,” Dr Alex Vaccaro, a professor of orthopedics and neurosurgery, said. “He must have been having some functional disability with his upper extremity.
“Fortunately neck pain, back pain, arm pain or leg pain is often very transient, lasting for a few days to a week.
“The vast majority are better in two weeks. So if he falls within that class, he should be fine next week – most likely.”
Vaccaro, who is also chief of spine surgery at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, cautioned that a small percentage of people with neck pain would need treatment . . . “But Tiger is a well-conditioned athlete and he should, if he falls within the general natural history of this disease, feel better next week. That’s unless there are some things we don’t know about, that he hasn’t been discussing.”
Khabie felt the game’s leading player would probably be sidelined for at least three weeks.
“If there is not major structural damage, meaning there is not a herniated disk, then we are probably looking at three to six weeks,” he said. “If it shows up there is a major herniated disk pushing on a nerve and he is having neurological symptoms, that may be something that may eventually even require surgery.”
Woods said he had been troubled by neck pain since returning at last month’s US Masters but it was not related to the car crash outside his home last year that led to revelations about his infidelities.
For Vaccaro, this was a good sign. “Tiger said this is a more recent thing so I think this should be transient for him.”
