Golf legend Jack Nicklaus tries experimental stem cell therapy for ‘debilitating’ back pain

jack nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus hits his tee shot on the par-4 10th hole. Image credit: AP Photo/Jay LaPrete

For much of his professional golf career [Jack] Nicklaus has had aggravating back pain that he describes as an eight or nine out of 10 on the pain scale. While most golfers live with some degree of back pain Nicklaus said his was particularly debilitating. Despite trying therapies ranging from cortisone shots to a back operation the pain persisted. At the time he flew to Munich, Nicklaus was willing to try anything, even an, as of yet, unproven treatment.

At the Isar Klinikum in Munich, Germany, Nicklaus was prepped for the procedure. After getting a shot of local anesthesia and light sedation, he underwent liposuction on his abdominal area to harvest the stem cells, which come from the blood vessels.

After a quick check for contamination, the cells were injected back into Nicklaus’s body. Nicklaus received 10 injections in his back on each side of his lumbar spine, or lower back, and four in his cervical spine, or neck.

While he didn’t feel “immediate relief,” he did notice “the pain he used to feel while actively playing golf, had subsided after a few months”.

 

Read full, original post: Jack Nicklaus’ secret stem cell therapy: ‘I didn’t keep it private; no one asked me about it’

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