• My Scores
  • MLB
  • Golf
  • World Cup

Brandt Snedeker discovers why he's been injured so often

By Kyle Porter | Golf Writer

Brandt Snedeker hopes he found the cure for his brittle ribs. (Getty Images)
Brandt Snedeker hopes he found the cure for his brittle ribs. (USATSI)


Brandt Snedeker finally has some answers.

The No. 5-ranked player in the world has been struggling most of this year (and most of his career, really) with a nagging rib injury that just won't go away.

It has now been diagnosed as "low bone turnover."

What essentially happens is your bones regenerate a little bit every year. In "low bone turnover," which Snedeker experiences in his ribs, the bones don't regenerate quickly enough, causing them to become brittle and break, as they have four times in the last six years.

Snedeker told Sports Illustrated that he told his doctors he needs to start getting better quickly.

"I said, ‘Where I am right now is not OK. We've got to do something to increase [my bone strength].' They said, ‘Well, we can give you some medicine to keep you where you are.' I said, ‘Where I am now is not working. I need to get better. I need to get back to where I can do what I want to do without any injuries.' ”

So his medical team gave him some medicine called Forteo, which should help strengthen his bones but could take up to two years to be really effective.

The tipping point for Snedeker this year came during the final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

"I hit a drive on No. 14, the par-5, and looked at my caddie and said, 'That's it, man. I've got nothing else. I feel like I've been stabbed.' I could get [the club] back OK. But on the way through, it just felt like I was pulling the bone away from the sternum or something."

Pretty heavy stuff from one of golf's most gregarious characters. I for one hope the medication does its duty and we get Snedeker at 100 percent going forward.

h/t Golf.com


CBSSports Facebook Google Plus
Conversation powered by Livefyre

golf Video


Most Popular