From television stars to athletes, here are seven spine cases that made headlines in 2021:
1.Tiger Woods underwent a microdiscectomy to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching his nerve in January.
2. Actress Katherine Heigl had two titanium discs implanted into her neck in March at Watkins Spine in Marina Del Rey, Calif.
3. Retired motorcycle racer Carey Hart had lower disc replacement at Newport Beach, Calif.-based DISC Sports & Spine Center in September.
4. Daytime television host Whoopi Goldberg had surgery for a sciatica flare up at New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery in September.
5. NHL Vegas Golden Knights player Jack Eichel had an artificial disc replacement in November.
6. Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. had spine surgery at Dallas-based Carrell Clinic, the team said Dec. 1.
7. Robert Watkins IV, MD, performed back surgery on Brook Lopez, an NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks, according to a Dec. 2 report.