Last week, Tiger Woods withdrew from the the Hero World Challenge due to a painful bout of plantar fasciitis. Woods announced that he would pursue conservative methods to address the condition, opting to “stretch and relax,” instead of going in for surgery.
“You don’t want to go down the surgical route,” Woods said during an interview on the Golf Channel broadcast of the Hero World Challenge. “Injections, surgical, or just stretch and relax, and I chose to stretch and relax.”
Treating Plantar Fasciitis
While surgery can certainly help to address a plantar fasciitis issue, we believe that Tiger’s insistence of avoiding an operation is based on a similar philosophy we hold at Silverman Ankle & Foot, which is that you should address the problem in the least invasive way possible. For some people, the least invasive option is a laparoscopic procedure to address a problem that would not respond to conservative care. For others, the least invasive treatment involves, stretching, icing, rest and physical therapy.
Woods also mentioned that he is sleeping with a special boot on his foot to help stretch the plantar fascia while he sleeps. Oftentimes the plantar fascia can contract while you’re off your feet and sleeping, and then it can suffer microtearing with your first few steps in the morning as the tissue is forced to stretch as it handles the pressure of your body weight. Sleeping with a foot brace, stretching in the morning and being light on your feet with your first few steps can help to avoid more problems for your plantar fascia and allow inflammation to resolve.
“When you first step out of bed, it’s like, ‘Oh my God,’” Woods said during the interview.
More than two million people in the United States are treated for plantar fasciitis each year, and most of them are treated with conservative means. Roughly five percent of those with plantar fasciitis pursue surgery to treat their condition, simply because it tends to respond well to targeted conservative treatments.
Woods can take a slow and steady approach with his plantar fasciitis, and it’s likely not going to cause major problems for him in the events that matter most to him. He said he plans to play in The Match against Rory McIlroy this weekend, and then his focus will shift to making sure that his body is in top shape for the Masters and the other major tournaments. Considering he’s bounced back from broken legs and multiple back surgeries to win on the PGA Tour, we expect him to be able to overcome this bothersome plantar fascia condition. As long as he follows the advice of his foot specialist and is mindful about his approach to recovery, we see no reason why he can’t put this problem behind him. We wish him the best of luck with his recovery and on tour this season.