Doctor Who Treated Woods Under Investigation

A Canadian doctor who has treated Tiger Woods, among many other professional athletes, is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), and is under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "for smuggling, advertising and selling unapproved drugs as well as criminal conspiracy," according to an article in the New York Times.

The Times investigation does not suggest that the doctor is suspected of providing Woods with PEDs; and the doctor denies providing any athletes with human growth hormone. To me, there is nothing in the article that suggests there's any reason to suspect Woods of using PEDs, and so any dark inferences should be avoided. What was most interesting about the article (as it related to Woods, anyway) is the section that I quote at the bottom of this blog post, a section that makes clear Woods' recovery from knee surgery was much more painful and problematic - and ongoing - than previously revealed.

It's also important to note that the doctor - Dr. Anthony Galea, a sports medicine specialist based in Toronto - is not some shadowy figure, but is the team doctor for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts; has openly treated many prominent athletes; and is considered a pioneer of a technique known as "platelet-rich plasma therapy," or PRP. Some other prominent sports medicine doctors believe that PRP is a breakthrough technique that can dramatically speed recovery time from injuries and surgeries; other doctors believe the technique's benefits are as yet unproven and more research is needed.

Dr. Galea was arrested on Oct. 15 after his medical bag was found in the car of one of his assistants who was attempting to drive into the United States from Canada. The doctor's bag included human growth hormone (HGH) and a controversial drug called Actovegin. HGH is not illegal in Canada, and Dr. Galea insisted what was found in his medical bag was his own personal stash.

Actovegin is derived from calf's blood and some athletes apparently believe it speeds recovery time from injuries, aches and pains. The drug is illegal in the United States, but is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, mostly because nobody is really sure if the drug has any benefit to its users. Perceived benefits may just be the placebo effect, according to a drug expert quoted by the Times.

It is the platelet therapy that Dr. Galea administered to Tiger Woods, according to the Times investigation and confirmed by Dr. Galea. Dr. Mark Lindsay, a Canadian chiropractor who works with Dr. Galea, led Woods' rehab team (and Dr. Lindsay also led Alex Rodriguez's rehab team following the baseball star's hip surgery).

The Times reports:

Dr. Lindsay said he worked with Mr. Woods at his home throughout his eight-month rehabilitation. The work included strength training, conditioning and exercises in a swimming pool, Dr. Lindsay said.

In February, discouraged by the lack of progress, Dr. Lindsay asked Dr. Galea to look at Mr. Woods, who was suffering from patellar tendinitis and had scarring in the muscle. "It's common after the A.C.L. to have tendinitis," Dr. Lindsay said. "And the P.R.P. helped."

Dr. Galea said he treated Mr. Woods in his home four or five times with a borrowed centrifuge from an Orlando doctor. Each time, he said he drew blood from Woods, spun it to increase the platelets' count and then injected a small amount directly into Mr. Woods's left knee.

Two days after the first treatment, Woods texted him, Dr. Galea said: "He said he couldn't believe how good he feels. He'd joke and say, 'I can jump up on the kitchen table,' and I said, 'Please don't.' "

Dr. Galea said that Mr. Woods stayed in touch, texting him after the British Open in July that his left knee had begun bothering him again. Dr. Galea said he flew to Orlando in early August and gave Mr. Woods P.R.P. therapy for a final time.

In October, he said he heard again from Mr. Woods that his knee was still bothering him, "but all this stuff started with the investigation, and I couldn't go see him."

Read the full New York Times article

See also: Tiger Woods scandals