Editor's Blog

Inside scoop on Tiger's knee

For those of you who have written to us about Tiger's knee, you'll be interested a piece by John Lauerman on Bloomberg.com today. Lauerman gets orthopedic surgeons to talk about Tiger's surgery and about the surgeon who did it. It turns out that Dr. Thomas Rosenberg, an innovative surgeon and an avid golfer himself, takes a significantly different approach to ACL surgery than most and probably took that approach with Woods:

While the doctor isn't saying what technique he used on Woods, Rosenberg is an early developer of the ``double-bundle'' reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.

Most surgeons repair a damaged ACL, which Woods tore, with a single strand of tendon tissue, usually taken from the patient's knee or from a cadaver. Rosenberg pioneered replacing both of the two parts of the ACL. Some specialists believe it may preserve the finely tuned ``screw'' action of the knee as it hinges, said John Richmond, chairman of orthopedics at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.

``The anterior cruciate ligament guides the knee joint,'' said Richmond. He says he uses both methods. ``The perceived advantage of double-bundle surgery is that it restores a more normal motion.''

Worth a read.

--Bob Carney

Comments

Archived Comments (2) Click to expand

Can anyone tell me what happens to Steve Williams while Tiger takes the rest of the year off?

Posted by MES June 30, 2008 7:00 PM

One online column quoted Butch Harmon and Peter Kostis' opinion that Tiger's swing will require re-tooling to prevent future knee damage.
Details of a scientifically-researched golf swing which is both mechanically and biomechanically more effective, and gives as good or better ball flight while being far less prone to cause injury to the left knee, wrist and elbow, may be seen on www.yourgolfguru.com

Posted by KiranKanwargolfpro July 2, 2008 3:55 PM
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