You don't have to be an orthopedic surgeon to figure out that doing high-shock stunts can't be good for your back. In fact, professional stuntman Jeff Gibson herniated a disk in his back, and that nearly ended his career.

More Information Dr. Fabien Bifan Beth Israel Spine Center 212-844-6900

"It was just excruciating pain down my legs -- my hips hurt, my back constantly hurts," Gibson said of his injury. "It was to the point where I thought literally my career was over as far as doing stunts."

When a spinal disk is so damaged that it no longer works as a shock absorber, the usual option is to remove the entire disk and fuse the adjacent vertebrae, which works well but has some long-term drawbacks.

"Up to 20 to 30 percent of patients after 10 years have a lot of degenerative disease above or below the fusion, because most likely the disc above or below has to take over the job of this disc that has been destroyed," said Dr. Fabien Bitan, of Beth Israel Spine Center.

That's what led researchers to develop an artificial spinal disk, similar in concept to a replacement hip or knee. The idea is to replace the ruptured disk with something that maintains normal motion between the vertebrae.

The procedure is more difficult than a standard fusion. It has been used about 100 times in the United States and Food and Drug Administration approval is expected any day, mainly because the patients have done so well.

"The recovery is a bit shorter than with a fusion," said Bitan. "The patient leaves a hospital, gets out of bed, goes back to normal function very quickly."

Gibson had avoided fusion surgery because fellow stuntmen who have had it lost flexibility, which is now not a problem with Gibson -- who is back doing stunts just weeks after his surgery.

"This is the best thing I've ever done," Gibson said. "He gave me my life back."