Tiger is going to be the "butt" of quite a few jokes going forward, all due to the fact he blamed his returned troubles Thursday on no longer being capable of get his glutes to "live activated." But I may not be joining within the laughs.
See, even though I don't have Tiger's lower back issues, I assume I recognize what came about... And I bet it was really painful. So allow me give you a brief lesson on "deactivated glutes."
First of all, in case you somehow missed it, your glutes are your butt muscles. And I do mean muscles plural -- they're actually a group of muscles on each hip. When Sir Mix-a-Lot sings Baby Got Back he's singing about glutes... and all the fat around them. You can see them below in this image I found at pixshark.com.
The main purpose of these muscles is very simple: They help you straighten up when you bend over. Let me give you an example that I'm familiar with because it happens to me sometimes.
I have a favorite chair that I like to use when I'm writing on my laptop. When the laptop is in my lap and I'm sitting normally -- that is, my back is resting properly against the chair back -- I have no problems. But sometimes when I really get into a project, maybe when I'm searching for something online, I bend over the computer. If I lose track of time and do it for too long, I get "stuck" when I stand up -- that is, I get about halfway up and suddenly feel some stiffness in my lower back, right at the base of my spine. It doesn't hurt per se, but it takes a few seconds before I can finish straightening up.
In a completely real sense, my glutes may not "prompt" due to the fact they haven't been shifting for a while.
If I try to straighten up too soon, before my glutes are ready, it WILL hurt because I don't have the full range of motion in my glutes and my lower back will have to do the work . That's where the problem is, because back muscles aren't supposed to work at that angle. That's why you're always told to bend your knees when you lift things off the floor.
Now imagine what that feels like when you've had a back operation less than a year ago, and you can understand what must have happened to Tiger. During a golf swing you don't have the option to stop moving for a few seconds while your glutes adjust to the demand. His lower back is forced to finish the movement.
This probably means he still has some weak spot in his pelvic muscles. We tend to get spoiled when we listen about the occasional athlete who returns from surgical procedure a whole lot in advance than everybody anticipated. The reality is that most athletes can require 18-24 months before their muscle groups and all the ones little connecting tissues among them and the joints are lower back to full power... And also you can't cause them to heal faster simply due to the fact you tell them you're Tiger Woods.
So I'm guessing that that is just another muscle spasm, no longer a new harm to his again. But that makes me wonder if he's going to be capable of compete before later in the yr. What Tiger in all likelihood desires is more time to heal.
The real query is whether or not he's going to be affected person enough to take that point. If he does not, there might be a price, similar to there was in the course of all the ones "heroic" performances wherein he played thru pain -- just like the leg fracture at the 2008 US Open. Fans applauded the ones efforts... However they aren't searching all that smart anymore, are they?
He's still young enough to have another good run at Jack if he takes the time to heal now. I just hope he's realized that.
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