ptspin
by Scott Higgs, MPT, Physical Therapist
Back pain? Check
your attitude.
With Tiger Woods recovering from his
second back surgery, I constantly hear sports
announcers and golf enthusiasts talking
about whether or not he will ever return
to true competition form. As a physical
therapist, my answer to that concern might
seem a little odd. Sure he can return, but he
has to do it differently.
I want to do a little series on back pain
causes, conditions and treatment options.
Last month, we focused on prevention and
strengthening with planking. This month, I
want to take a look at recovery attitude.
There was speculation that Tiger
returned to playing before his body was
ready for him to do that. For a man with such
a violent (but obviously effective) swing, I
tend to agree. But maybe not. Maybe what
he didn’t do was come back differently.
I’m not his physical therapist, but I
can guarantee that if he tried to return to
playing in the manner in which he always
had, it was just a matter of time before he
re-injured himself. When patients come to
Ponchatoula Therapy with back injuries
and we find out the cause, it’s typically from
some sort of improper movement or stress
on the joints in the back. The bad news is
that our backs were not made for the golf
swing. The good news is that we can make
changes in our swings to ensure we get the
most out of our backs … and our games.
When golfers inj \