Dr: Minimum Of Six Weeks To Heal For Injury Like McIlroy's
Golf Channel's Matt Adams spoke with an orthopedic surgeon who has served as an independent examiner for the NFL and who says Rory McIlroy's stress fracture is extremely rare for a golfer. 
More ominous is his prescription for recovery and healing.
“They are typical in rowing or upper body weight bearing athletes,” Kunkel said. “Stress fractures are caused by an accumulation of micro-trauma. They are tiny fractures or cracks in the bone. Usually the body just heals them. If you do not give it time to heal, it can result in a full fracture. Typically, an injury of this sort will take a minimum of six weeks to heal.”
Kunkel noted that the only way to ensure that an injury of this nature does not reoccur is to stop engaging in the activity that caused the injury and to strengthen the muscles around the core and spine.
“The modern golf swing is hard on the body,” he said. "To have athletes in their 20s experiencing these types of injuries is very concerning for the long-term.”
Dr. Ara Suppiah explains more in this Golf Central phone call with Lisa Cornwell:
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 01:23 AM
Reader Comments (30)
Yes. And "overtraining" seems to be just as hard on the body. Lethal combination.
How do you "strengthen the muscles around the core and spine"?
Is it weightlifting?
Also, through no fault of his own, the doctor here is talking in generalities.
He has not treated Rory as far as I can tell.
I am sure he is surrounded by a lot of very qualified people giving him excellent advice
Swinging a golf club puts 7 times your body weight load on your spine.
There is not a golf pro out there who does not have a problem with that spine. If they are lucky - it's a nag.
Rory is doing what every smart Tour player anywhere does and that is working on getting stronger- especially the core.
He knows what he is doing and so do the people around him.
Read it again:
"Dr. Sandy Kunkel, Indiana Orthopedic Surgeon, independent examiner for the NFL, team physician for the Indiana Pacers from 1988 to 2004 and one of the nation’s leading back specialists, said that stress fractures of this nature are “extremely rare” in golfers"
“They are typical in rowing or upper body weight bearing athletes,” Kunkel said
That tells you it's most likely not the golf swing that has caused this injury and if you've ever seen some of the exercises and lifting that Rory does as part of his program, you'd being putting two and two together....
And, in answer to your question: "How do you "strengthen the muscles around the core and spine"?
Is it weightlifting?" the answer is absolutely NOT!
Find a reputable physical therapist, trainer or athletic chiropractic specialist who recommends weight lifting as a way to strengthen the core and you will have done something remarkable...
That said, he has access to lots of experts and I am sure he will good advice on what next steps should be.
I just hope he learns from Woods -- and does not return too soon, Better to miss things now than forever. He is years younger than Woods was when he really ran up against it.
As for luck, yes luck has a lot to do with it. It's genetics. Some, like DJ are fortunate. Rory has great talent, but it's fair to say his body needed traing to stand up to life on tour with his powerful swing. I think he is doing a great job of it, he's an honest pro these days, owned up to past mistakes like the toothache drama.
He wanted badly to play this week in an event he really enjoys. But he said in South Africa he would rather pull out and fully recover rather than make things worse in his quest for a Green Jacket. Good luck to him, golf needs Rory in the field.
Oh and like some others here, John Jacobs RIP.
When Rory appeared he was 17 with puppy fat. Yes, he is muscular now, wieghing in at a whopping 73kg ( 160.6 lbs) Hardly a giant. He had problems with his lumbar region at a young age so training was the answer in that area. Other guys on tour are not Rory and he is not like tham. We are all different, with different needs when it comes to training. Once again, he will have the best advice possible, far more qualified than anyone here.
That's exactly what everyone said about Tiger...
Stenson's conditioning program would be interesting reading for sake of comparison to other pro players
Sometimes injuries like Rory's happen for inexplicable reasons, and aa attractive as it is to attribute them to one or two primary causes, such conclusions might not be that accurate.
Bone stress injury ticks away in a pain free state for weeks. Just because symptoms were first apparent between rounds one and two doesn't necessarily mean anything he did in that interval was a primary causative factor.
I'm sure the're both right, their experts!
Anyway, good luck with the recovery, Rory. You're my fav!
Much like everything else, this injury likely came about from a combo of things. Training hard, swing hard, and carrying his fiancé around
More than anything hope he heels correctly, like many golfers his back/neck need to be meticulously cared for to have a long career!
What's he squatting there like 400lbs or more?
Scary quote from the article__"I'm not sure how much weight is on that bar, but I do know this – McIlroy has embraced physical fitness with Tiger-like intensity"
There's no other way to describe that other than it is excessive.
Chubby Chandler described him as” headstrong”.
Hopefully he learns from this, but there's no doubt his progress has stuttered of late.
Fingers crossed he can have the career his talents promise. No one since Tiger has been so exciting to watch.