Nicklaus: Stem cells cured my back agony

JACK Nicklaus has become one of the first people in the world to have stem cell therapy on his back.

The pioneering treatment has allowed the veteran golfer, who won 18 majors, to swing a club again without pain.

The 78-year-old had suffered with back problems since childhood. He was forced to have regular cortisone injections throughout his career. But a 90-minute procedure – which saw stem cells removed from his abdomen and inserted into his lower back – had him back on the course within a week, pain-free.

Experts behind the treatment, which costs just £30, are confident the rapid procedure will be widely available within the next five

years. Mr Nicklaus said: ‘I can now stand for as long as I want, I don’t hurt when I hit a golf ball and I don’t hurt when I hit a tennis ball. That’s a pretty good result for me.’ He had his first procedure in 2016, carried out by Dr Eckhard Alt,...