Tiger's Back, I mean his back again . . .

Here's a news flash that I'm sure Steve Ozanich is all on top of, but it does seem to belong here in the TMS Forum:

http://my.xfinity.com/articles/sports-golf/20150918/Tiger.Woods.surgery/?cid=NewHP_sportsmod_woods

Interesting too Tiger's quote about how he's a "fighter". Sounds like the more energy Tiger puts into fighting it, the longer his back condition will persist (like chronic back pain is something you can't fight and beat into submission).

 

Wow if this is not a case of TMS with a sports celebrity I don't know what is…Thx for sharing Bruce

 

Boston: This trouble with Tiger's back has been on-going for years. Steve Ray Ozanich, who wrote the Great Pain Deception and is an avid golfer himself, goes into it extensively in his book. Seems like Tiger's back starting going out when he got caught fooling around behind his wife's back a few years ago and has continued to plague him ever since. Believe it's also moved into his knee from time to time likewise. Steve is familiar with all the details and has some convincing explanations for Tiger's troubles. Check in with Steve.

 

Bruce you beat me to it. Was about to post this article:

http://www.pgatour.com/news/2015/09/18/tiger-woods-microdiscectomy-surgery.html

Can't someone get to that man about TMS? I would really love to see him on top of his game again.

 

I too wish someone would tell Tiger about TMS. His marital problems and his perfectionism are twin "perfect storms" for TMS.

I wish the same for George Clooney who has had several back operations that have not helped him.

Steve's book could really help them both.

 

Before I start, I gotta state I am a fan of his game and would love to see him back in play.
But when I saw this: http://www.golfdigest.com/story/tiger-woods-confirms-return-to-golf-commits-to-safeway-open (Tiger Woods confirms return to golf, commits to Safeway Open - Golf Digest) ......

....somehow, I have this nagging thought that this might happen: http://www.pgatour.com/news/2016/10/10/tiger-woods-withdraws-safeway-open.html (Tiger Woods withdraws from Safeway Open)

True enough

I don't think its his game that is not ready. He trained for a year before deciding he is ready. You don't just suddenly change your mind in 4 days unless......unless....trigger!
I suspect he probably had a trigger in between the time he announce his return and till he annnouce his withdrawal.

I really wish someone can get him into TMS. I think he still have another 3-4 majors left in him if he can just stop thinking surgery is gonna help him.

 

Here's an excerpt from a recent article about Tiger's "come back". SteveO may have been consulted on this but was un-credited:


http://www.golfdigest.com/story/tigers-road-back-an-email-exchange-with-jaime-diaz (Tiger's Road Back: An email exchange with Jaime Diaz - Golf Digest)

"In your story you delve into some deep stuff, particularly the concept that some of his physical pain might emanate from emotional anguish. If that's the case, can the opposite be true? If Tiger, having missed the game in the past year, can rediscover some joy in playing, could his body respond favorably as well? I ask this question of course acknowledging you are not a doctor, a psychiatrist or, as far as I know, a spiritual healer.

It’s a tricky area, because when it comes to the source of Tiger’s pain, since he has never shared any medical specifics, is all speculation. It was revealing to me that Tiger’s agent, Mark Steinberg, said in our story that Tiger had not considered nor was considering exploring whether his pain could have psychosomatic origins. It suggests that just as Tiger has declined to comment publicly about his scandal or the toll it might have taken on him, he has not addressed the embarrassment and humiliation as a source of stress that could be responsible for part of, or even all of, his lower-back problems. The theoretical inverse of this — again, speculation — would be Tiger coming to terms with the damage his scandal and subsequent divorce did to his psyche, and acknowledging that its effect was psychosomatic pain. Extending this line of thinking, if Tiger got to that point, his body and mind could heal to the point that he could regain the mental and physical skills that in recent years have dramatically declined. The best chance for Tiger to play with joy again is to understand and resolve the sadness and regret he’s likely been carrying in recent years."

 

Tiger has got TMS it seems obvious to me, seems like someone who may have a fair bit of repressed emotions hidden deep down and wow surgeries didn't fix everything up like the surgeons said they would, no way! Society's judgement and that would be a sign of weakness that it could possibly be psychosomatic is a path less travelled. Celebrities especially probably cannot deal with that reality. just like JJ Watts pre-emptive back surgery that he did, even though he had no pain, how stupid was that!

 

They're not booing they're yelling Bruuuuuce

Last month Jaime Diaz a hall of fame writer for Golf Digest contacted me to say, "Mr. Ozanich we think Tiger Woods has something called TMS, can you help us understand it?" I said yes! And that Chapter 4 in my new book is about Tiger. Jaime was on his way to cover golf in the Olympics so he asked me if I could write him a report over the weekend, he said he would get back to me as soon as he returned. So I wrote a nice report on the promise that he would cite me in the September issue of Golf Digest. I spent a half day writing a synopsis for him, a half hour on the phone with him, and sent him 3 books. This month's article came out and he never mentioned me, but I did a paragraph in about Dr. Sarno. It's a concise paragraph on TMS well summarized (below).

Tiger has TMS and so does Jason Day and about 2o million other golfers. But no one really cares that much (SNAFU). In between not caring that much the message still keeps expanding despite the apathy.

Here's the Golf Digest paragraph if anyone is interested. I showed Dr. Sarno and he is pleased that the message is gaining ground.

"There is much research providing evidence that tension from unresolved repressed emotions—particularly anger and shame—can be an important source of chronic pain. According to work pioneered by Dr. John Sarno, a now retired professor of rehabilitation medicine at NYU, the body’s reaction to deep psychological wounds can be to create physical pain to prevent hidden emotions from becoming conscious. Sarno calls this Tension Myoneural Syndrome and says that such psychosomatic pain that can’t be traced to actual structural changes often occurs in the back."

 

[Deleted at BeWell's request]

 

Hi SteveO, hopefully GOLF DIGEST will do a follow-up article where you will be credited, all I can say is "editors".

Cheers,
tt

 

[Deleted at BeWell's request]

 

Hooray!
But I remain skeptical. Not of TMS of course, but of Tiger and his camp inclination towards this route. I don't know what will the trigger point for a person like Tiger to eventually consider TMS. I am assuming he probably has a strong (e.g. stubborn) streak and that will be a big barrier in accepting that his LBP is not due to some physical defect.

Myself is a cynical A@@. I used to think all medical stuff that has the term 'mental' or "psycho###" in them as smoky at best. I did not consciously get into TMS. Its only when I tried every darn thing possible and stare at a possibility of lifetime LBP and know that I got nothing else to lose before I tentatively took the first step towards TMS.

Even then, I accidentally came across it when googling LBP and THANK GOD I DID! Bless you Dr Sarno!

And reading Steve's book brings me to the next level. Yes, playing through pain is a game changer for me. Bless u too Steve!

 

What's interesting is that the only indication of pain in one of those articles mentioned "occasional discomfort."
(Or rather, disc-omfort, hehe). People don't have surgery because of occasional discomfort. They take baths, use heating pads, stretch. It's not like Tiger Woods woke up one morning with a stiff back and said, Time for surgery.
It's a shame that in our culture, in order to prove we're not weak, we have to downplay our physical pain. I think this is especially true for men, and especially true for people whose lives are in the spotlight. It's all medical, there's no emotional component.
Tiger Woods will never own up to the TMS diagnosis. Too much pride. So long as he still has money to pay for more back surgeries and more doctors to tell him it's all structural, and so long as he has enough clout to make the general public believe it's a medical condition, he has no motivation to look inward. I can't imagine he's chomping at the bit to embark on a journey of self reflection and awareness.

 

[Deleted at BeWell's request]

 

If Tiger is desperate enough and I mean really reaching end of options desperation, and he starts thinking logically, he will realise that the disc theory doesn't make sense.
1. You do rehab diligently for 1 year and when you still have an attack, you attribute it to that 1 single day when you miss your rehab exercise.
2. And if the pain is caused by the disc pressing on the nerve, well, many folks have removed the whole $#@! disc and still live in pain.
3. And of all people, HAHA, he should know that the brain can influence blood circulation and other bodily attributes.