Some of you may have noticed my absence from recent events. This is due to an unfortunate injury I experienced during an event at The Bear Trace @ Harrison Bay. In this article, I will go into the details of the injury, what has happened since, and the prognosis.
What Happened
I woke up Sunday, June 28, with a slight pain in the right lower quadrant of my abdomen. I did not think much of it as it was just a minor pain. It went away completely on the car ride to the golf course. I warmed up with no pain and even played eight holes forgetting it was there. However, on hole nine, I hit my driver and started feeling it once again. I hit a six iron for my next shot and nearly collapsed. The pain was excruciating, and I soon realized I could not continue. I withdrew, and the pain started to subside forty-five minutes after the peak; it did not completely go away.
First Differentials
I awoke the next day to find that my pain was not better, possibly even worse. I booked an appointment with my pediatrician to rule out emergencies such as appendicitis. To my surprise, they thought it could be an inguinal hernia They were confident it was not appendicitis because I had no additional symptoms. The next day I had an appointment with a general surgeon to confirm my hernia diagnoses. The surgeon disagreed and believed there was no hernia present. However, my pain continued. I had an ultrasound because my pediatrician believed it could be a hernia that was difficult to diagnose. The ultrasound came back negative. It was certainly not a hernia.
More Tests
My pain had not gotten better. At this point, it was likely that my pain was orthopedically related due to extra pain with movement and no additional symptoms. I had an X-ray and MRI of the pelvic area to find any potential muscle strains, tears, or holes. Both returned negative. I also had bloodwork done to look for any infection, virus, or inflammation. Everything was normal with this as well. At this point, my pain was still the same (around 3/10 consistently). I was then prescribed a low-dose anti-inflammatory steroid to see if that helped any; it did not.
Return Attempt
At this point, I did not think there was anything seriously wrong. I thought it would be a good idea to try and play golf again. I started my round with little added pain each shot. By the time I reached hole six, my pain had gotten much worse. I hit a shot on hole seven and nearly passed out from the pain. I stopped playing and told my doctor. They then ordered an abdominal and pelvic CT scan. It returned negative.
Currently
Currently, my pain is a consistent 3/10 and has waves of pain that reach 5/10. The doctors do not know exactly what is wrong. I do not know when I will be back to playing golf. I will keep updating this post as I receive information. Thank you to all of the doctors that have helped me so far, and thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I’ll get through this eventually!!
UPDATE 8/24/2020:
After what has felt like a year, I have been released to play golf again. I plan to play the SSJC Music City Challenge at Two Rivers Golf Course in Nashville, Tennessee as my next event. Below I will discuss what my eventual diagnosis was and what I have done to rehabilitate and get back on the golf course.
Diagnoses
After coming up empty-handed in imaging tests, I felt it was time to try physical therapy. I began going to sports trainer Jillian Keeler, who after a few sessions, recommended I see a chiropractor. Fortunately, this chiropractor had seen this issue before, not in one of his patients, but in himself. My iliopsoas muscle was very tight. After working out some of the tightness, I was pain-free within hours, the first time in six weeks. I was told it was very likely this injury was not acute, and this muscle had been tightening for many years.
Rehabilitation
I have since been doing many strengthening and stretching exercises with my trainer to continue to loosen the muscle and prevent this from happening again. I will continue to do these exercises and should be back to full capacity within the next few weeks. Thank you to everyone who has helped me through this process! I will be happy to be back inside the ropes soon!!