Jack Nicklaus hails $50 back pain ‘miracle’
JACK NICKLAUS, the champion golfer, has become one of the first people in the world to undergo groundbreaking stem cell therapy on his back to allow him to swing a golf club once more.
The 78-year-old, known as the Golden Bear, won 18 Majors in his career, but has suffered severe back pain from childhood and needed regular cortisone injections as a player.
The pain was so severe it caused him to withdraw from two tournaments, and it reached the stage where, before the treatment, he could not stand for longer than 10 minutes at a time. In an
experimental procedure carried out in Germany by Dr Eckhard Alt, Nicklaus had stem cells removed from his abdomen and inserted into his lower back. The procedure took just 90 minutes, and within a week he was back on the golf course, pain free.
The experts behind the treatment, which costs just $50 (£36), are confident the procedure will be widely available within the next five years and could change the lives of millions of patients suffering from joint pain. Speaking about the procedure at Unite To Cure: the Fourth Vatican Conference in Vatican City, Jack Nicklaus said: “I can now stand for as long as I want… I played golf the next week and I thought this is pretty good. I wish I had met Eckhard about 20 years earlier. I’m a believer. I’ve had nice results. People ask me about it and I say you better get an aeroplane to Munich.”
Nicklaus had the first procedure in 2016 and this week is travelling back to Munich to have stem cells injected into his shoulder. He told The Daily Telegraph: “I feel better than I did, but my right shoulder is not performing too well and I like to fly fish and play tennis so it would be great if I could lift the arm higher and without pain.”