L4-L5 discectomy (laminectomy) in January 1981. Since I had that surgery I have:

Ridden 60,000 miles on hardtail mountain bikes, full suspension mountain bikes, no suspension mountain bikes, five different road bikes with traditional drops. I've crashed hard dozens of times on bicycles, hit head-on by two cars, run over from behind by a semi, and crashed a street bike into a big road side boulder when I was knocked out by a thrown beer bottle that broke a cheek bone.

I've also run about 10,000 miles and boardsailed in Hawaiian surf, Columbia River gorge gales, and a Green Bay tornado.

I also competed in dozens of high level racquetball tournaments.

I've also crashed hard on several motorcycles including a head-on crash where the left front tire of the offending car ended up parked on my head.

Bottom Line - I've had no problems with my back since the disc removal in January 1981.