Golf-related spinal injuries and outcomes following spinal surgery

BY DR VENU NEMANI AND DR PHILIP K. LOUIE

About the authors

Dr Philip K. Louie, MD is a Spine Surgeon at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, where he is the Medical Director of Research and Academics for the Center of Neurosciences and Spine. He also serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of STREAMD (AI-powered physician chatbots, clinically proven to engage patients and improve outcomes after surgery). He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Developmental Biology as well as his Medical Degree (MD) at the University of Washington. He subsequently completed his Orthopaedic Surgery Residency at Rush University Medical Center with Midwest Orthopaedics and spine surgery fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He has authored over 110 peer-reviewed publications as well as numerous abstracts, book chapters, and regularly presents research at both national and international conferences. He is active with AO and serves as the Spine Representative for the ITC Clinical Science Advisory Commission.
Dr Venu Nemani, MD, PhD is a Spine Surgeon at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in the Center for Neurosciences and Spine. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Duke University and subsequently completed a combined MD and PhD in Neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He subsequently completed his residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and an Adult and Pediatric Complex Spine Surgery fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis and Columbia University. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, and book chapters, and presents frequently at local, national, and international conferences and spinal surgical society meetings. His clinical focus is the surgical treatment of adult spinal deformities and other complex spinal disorders such as tumors and infections. He is also a lifelong golfer and dreams of getting back to his former 7 handicap!

References and further reading:

  1. R&A Group Services Limited. Record Numbers Now Playing Golf Worldwide. Accessed January 27, 2022. 
  2. Walker CT, Uribe JS, Porter RW. Golf: A contact sport. Repetitive traumatic discopathy may be the driver of early lumbar degeneration in modern-era golfers. J Neurosurg Spine. 2019; 31(6). doi:10.3171/2018.10.SPINE181113
  3. Haddas R, Pipkin W, Hellman D, Voronov L, Kwon YH, Guyer R. Is Golf a Contact Sport? Protection of the Spine and Return to Play After Lumbar Surgery. Global Spine J. Published online 2021. doi:10.1177/2192568220983291
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  5. TaylorMade Golf. Tiger Woods Slow Mo Driver Swing Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlp8G9paliw
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The articles included in the AO Spine Blog represent the opinion of individual authors exclusively and not necessarily the opinion of AO Spine or AO Foundation.