Beware: Even Tiger Woods Wasn’t Told This Before His Spine Surgeries
- Kingsley R Chin MD MBA
- 21 hours ago
- 5 min read
Why Waiting and Repeating Spine Surgeries Accelerates Disc Failure—and How a Motion-Preserving Disc Replacement Could Change the Path Forward
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin MD, MBA
Professor, Orthopedic Spine Surgery | CEO KIC Ventures
Every year, millions of patients suffering from chronic low back pain follow the same exhausting path: conservative care, injections, surgery—and when the pain returns, another surgery. Often these procedures are performed at the same spinal level, removing more disc tissue, weakening spinal mechanics, and quietly setting the stage for permanent dysfunction.
What most patients are never told is a critical truth:
Once a spinal disc begins to structurally fail, repeated injections and surgeries do not restore function. They accelerate degeneration and push patients toward rigid spinal fusion.
At that point, the problem is no longer a “pinched nerve.” It is a failed mechanical system.
Yet too many patients are treated as if repeating the same procedures that contributed to disc failure will somehow produce a different outcome.
The Missed Window in Spine Care
Degenerative disc disease is progressive. Time and repetition are not neutral—they are destructive.
Each discectomy or decompression:
Removes load-bearing disc tissue
Reduces shock absorption
Increases instability
Transfers stress to adjacent spinal levels
For many patients, this progression ends in one place: rigid spinal fusion—a procedure that permanently eliminates motion at the treated level.
This raises a simple but powerful question:
Would you allow heart disease to worsen for years before fixing the underlying problem?
Yet this is exactly how degenerative disc disease is often treated—by managing symptoms while the mechanical failure of the disc continues unchecked.
By the time patients are told they “need a fusion,” the opportunity to preserve motion has often already been lost.
Why Disc Replacement Is Often Not Discussed
Disc replacement is not underutilized because it doesn’t work. It is underutilized because:
Most spine surgeons are trained in fusion and decompression, not motion preservation
Early-generation artificial discs were rigid and biomechanically limited
Disc technology historically lagged behind spinal biomechanics
Surgeons, like all professionals, tend to offer what they are most comfortable performing
As a result, disc replacement has often been positioned as a last resort rather than a timely option.
Even elite patients are not immune to this reality.
Learning from Tiger Woods’ Experience
Tiger Woods—one of the most physically analyzed athletes in history—underwent multiple spine surgeries over many years before ultimately receiving a total disc replacement. That delay was not due to a lack of intelligence, effort, or access to world-class care. It reflects how disc replacement has traditionally been discussed late in the treatment timeline.
At the time of his earlier surgeries, newer motion-preserving technologies—such as AxioMed’s viscoelastic disc—were not yet available.
In other words, what Tiger Woods wasn’t told early enough is the same thing many patients still aren’t told today: that replacing a failed disc—rather than repeatedly removing parts of it—may offer a better long-term outcome for the right patient.
Why AxioMed Changes the Conversation
AxioMed is not simply another artificial disc. It represents a fundamental shift in how disc replacement is designed to work.
The Key Difference: Viscoelasticity
Most artificial discs rely on metal-on-polymer or metal-on-metal designs. These devices allow motion, but they do not behave like a natural disc. They lack:
Progressive load sharing
True shock absorption
Energy dissipation under real-world spinal forces
A natural spinal disc is not a hinge. It is a dynamic shock absorber.
AxioMed’s disc was engineered to replicate that function. It is the only viscoelastic lumbar disc replacement to complete a U.S. FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical trial.
That distinction matters.
The Proof: Not Theory—Data
AxioMed is not experimental hype. It is among the most clinically validated disc replacement technologies ever developed.
What makes AxioMed proven:
Completed a U.S. FDA IDE clinical trial
More than 10 years of clinical follow-up
No reported device failures
Implanted globally across the U.S., Europe, Australia, and the Caribbean
Outcomes published in peer-reviewed spine journals
Demonstrated pain relief, preserved motion, and long-term durability
Nearly 1,000 patients worldwide have received an AxioMed disc—many after being told fusion was their only remaining option. AxioMed has documented patient experiences in which individuals returned to active, functional lives after disc replacement.
This is not hypothetical success. It is real-world durability.
Why Waiting Hurts Patients
The longer patients delay disc replacement, the worse the odds become.
Over time:
Facet joints deteriorate
Instability increases
Adjacent segments degenerate
Motion-preserving options disappear
Once fusion is performed, motion is permanently lost.
The tragedy is that many patients who ultimately undergo fusion could have qualified for disc replacement earlier—before repeated surgeries eliminated that option entirely.
A New Era May Begin in 2026
AxioMed’s viscoelastic disc is advancing toward FDA approval, with the potential to re-enter the U.S. market as early as 2026.
If approved, this moment could represent a turning point in spine care:
Patients may no longer need to “fail” multiple surgeries first
Disc replacement could be discussed earlier in the treatment timeline
Motion preservation could become the goal—not the exception
In short, future patients may not have to wait until their spine is irreversibly damaged to receive the right solution.
The Questions Every Patient Should Ask
Before agreeing to another spine surgery, patients should ask:
Is my pain coming from a failed disc?
Am I being offered a solution—or just another procedure?
Will this surgery restore function, or remove more of it?
Have I been evaluated for disc replacement?
Is motion preservation still possible?
Because once spinal motion is gone, it cannot be recovered.
Final Thought
The future of spine care should not be about managing decline. It should be about restoring function.
Disc replacement—performed at the right time, in the right patient, using the right technology—offers that possibility.
AxioMed’s viscoelastic disc doesn’t just replace a disc.
It replaces an outdated way of thinking.
And for many patients, that shift could mean the difference between a lifetime of limitation—and a return to life in motion.
Medical & Regulatory Disclaimer
This article is intended for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individual patient conditions vary, and treatment decisions should always be made in consultation with a qualified spine specialist.
AxioMed’s viscoelastic lumbar disc replacement is not currently FDA-approved for use in the United States. References to AxioMed’s technology are based on completed clinical trials, published data, and international clinical experience. Any discussion of potential FDA approval, including references to 2026, is forward-looking and subject to regulatory
review and approval. No guarantees are made regarding regulatory outcomes or individual patient results.
Mention of Tiger Woods is for illustrative and educational purposes only and does not imply endorsement, involvement, or specific medical advice related to his care.