When Tiger Woods announced Friday morning he was withdrawing from The Northern Trust, he cited a “mild oblique strain that led to pain and stiffness.”
We all know of Tiger’s long history of back issues, but what specifically is an oblique strain?
It involves the muscles on the side of the body between the ribs and pelvis. This type of injury can occur from overuse or sudden use of the muscles. Oblique strains are usually treated with rest and could take a few weeks to heal, or could become a lingering issue otherwise. They’re common in football and baseball.
The external obliques help you rotate your trunk, and they also help pull the chest downwards, which is how you compress your abdominal cavity, according to healthline.com.
After shooting a 4-over 75 in the opening round, Woods says his strain is a mild one and he hopes to play at next week’s BMW Championship at Medinah. It’s the second stop of the FedEx Cup Playoffs before the season ends at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Contributing: AP
