One useless orthopedic surgery leads to more ineffectual useless procedures, not just backs but shoulders, hips and knees. Hands too. The future belongs to neuroscience period. One of my book vendors had a replacement knee installed 8 months ago and now it's turned up leaking goo. Back to square one and start all over again! High-performance athletes seem particularly susceptible to the siren song of the orthopedic surgeon who claims he can "fix" anything pertaining to knees, hips, backs, hands, wrists etc etc. Never seen any outcomes that would warrant the pain and outright danger of such procedures. When in doubt, my advice is stick to OEM (original equipment manufactured).