Tiger Woods’ Latest Injury Is So Common, You May Have Had It

The most recent Tiger Woods injury is such a common problem that it’s not just for athletes or golfers.  Plenty of people suffer from it or have had it.  NBA All-Star Jason Kidd.  Baseball stars Albert Pujols and Evan Longoria. Peyton Manning. Hall of Fame golfer Vijay Singh and many others.  Maybe you.

It’s painful and annoying and has a funny name:  Plantar Fasciitis.  ( Plant- tar Fa-cee-eye-tis)

Plantar means it’s related to the sole of the foot.  Fasciitis is an inflammation of the fascia, which is connective tissue that is around muscles and such in the body. In this case, it’s connective tissue on the bottom of the foot.

Together they spell ouch!  The discomfort is often felt in the heel, sometimes so much so that it’s hard to walk.  And that’s what Tiger Woods has now. He attributes it to preparation for the Hero World Challenge.

"“I did a lot of beach walks trying to simulate the sand out here and my foot just did not like that very much.” – Tiger Woods"

“As I was ramping up and had to walk more, the worse it got,” Woods explained about his condition during a pre-tournament media conference.

"“So, when you get plantar fasciitis, the worst thing you can do is walk, and I was walking more and more and more, trying to get my legs ready for this event, and I just kept making it worse.”"

As he told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis in an interview, he was playing 18 holes at home and shooting 65s and 64s. He walked one nine holes and shot 5-under par.  He was doing other exercising, too, like walking on the beach and doing leg presses.

Whether Tiger Woods did too much, or whether his reassembled right leg just resisted the extra effort doesn’t matter.  The result was the same.  Pain.

Tiger Woods says that he is stronger than he was last year.

In his press conference at the Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods said some of the injury was probably self-inflicted.

"“It was the ramping-up process that did it. It’s a balancing act, right? How hard do you push it to make progress while not pushing it too hard to go off the edge and you set yourself back two, three days. That’s been the balancing act the whole year,” he explained.  “I did a lot of beach walks trying to simulate the sand out here and my foot just did not like that very much.”"

He also mentioned that he had a couple of “procedures” during the year, but Woods refused to elaborate on what they were or when or why they were done.

While needed, Tiger said that the surgeries were, in his opinion, additional setbacks to getting his body into better golf shape.  It’s a delay, not a defeat.

While the foot issue is going to keep him from playing in the Hero World Challenge, he will play at both The Match and the PNC Challenge where he will partner with his son Charlie.  Both of those events allow him to use a cart.  The PNC is technically a PGA Tour Champions Tour event, where carts are allowed.

"“My teammate (at Stanford) was Casey Martin, OK, and what he did with the ADA, I voted against it,”"

Tiger Woods explained about the lawsuit Martin brought against the PGA Tour to allow him to use a cart due to medical problems with his leg. Martin’s case went to the Supreme Court, and he won it, but Woods will not use Martin’s victory for his own purposes, although he could.

"“I think golf (he meant walking) is an integral part of the game at our level, and I will never take a golf cart until it’s sanctioned,” he insisted. “It’s sanctioned on the Champions Tour and the PNC is part of that.  As far as a regular event, no, I would never do that.”"

Many people probably wish Woods would change his position on that, but it’s unlikely.

For now, Woods is planning to play The Match and the PNC.  Next year, he has all four majors penciled in, and he hopes to play one or two additional events.  Of course, it all depends on his ability to walk the courses.