Well, have you ever wondered what your orthopedic surgeon does when his/her back goes out? Well in 1994 I was helping to lift a 350lbs patient and felt a big pop in my back. Over the next week the pain got so bad it would take me 10 minutes to be able to stand up straight. To my surprise my MRI scan showed a huge 12mm herniated lumbar disc. I was advised to have a micro-lumbar laminectomy and disc removal. The surgery took away the feeling of an explosion happening in my back but left me with 12 months of leg pain as a result of the surgeon retracting my nerve. That was before I knew about Selective Endoscopic Discectomy surgery. Over the years my back has “acted up” from time to time but I could play tennis, golf and ski. Oops until this weekend when I bent over to pull on my new ski boots and immediately felt a big left sided lower back pain. I tried to ski easy slopes but was getting worse. I have been lying on ice packs and doing MacKensie back extension exercises for the last 48 hours and am feeling much better but missed out skiing with my grandchildren on 2 beautiful sunny days with fresh snow. If I ever need another disc removed I am sure to have it removed using local anesthesia with a Selective Endoscopic Discectomy surgery.