Last night I had my blog for today planned - I was going to talk about the training and mental resolve it takes to be a champion. Unfortunately for KG and the Celtics, they're going to have to wait a day!
We saw mental toughness at its finest this week when Tiger Woods won his 14th major in the world of golf. Even though he was playing on a bum knee and needed an extra 19 holes to get the job done, he persevered and outlasted the underdog Rocco Mediate to win the US Open.
Unfortunately today, we found out the true scope of his knee injury. You can find the entire story here:
It turns out Tiger had torn his anterior crucicate ligament (ACL) llate ast year. In an effort to play this year, he opted against surgery - which lead to him tearing his meniscus and developing two stress fractures in his tibia.
The ACL is one of the major passive stabilizers of the knee - without an intact ACL, the knee is much more "loose." This is why people who don't have their ACL's repaired have an expedited onset of arthritic changes in the knee. You need that stability for optimal function in the knee, as well as throughout the kinetic chain.
Unfortunately for us, this means no more Tiger Woods on the golf course this year. However, just think about how much more amazing this makes his recent victory - even with a reduction in his knee stability AND a loss of proprioceptive ability due to the ACL tear, he still won a major golf tournament. I'm sure that like the rest of you, we're crossing our fingers that the real Tiger will be back next year and better than ever.
If you are having knee issues, or have torn your ACL in the past, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy of my Bulletproof Knees manual to help get you back to 100%.
Stay strong
MR
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