How back surgery has crushed NBA's Steve Kerr: Golden State Warriors coach urges fans to avoid operating at all costs as crippling side effects could force him to forfeit his dazzling career

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NBA star coach Steve Kerr has revealed he still suffers side effects from his 2015 back surgery that could cripple his career. He said on Sunday: 'If you have a back problem, stay away from surgery. Rehab, rehab, rehab'

Revered basketball coach Steve Kerr has urged fans to never get back surgery, as he reveals side effects may jeopardize his career with the Golden State Warriors.

Kerr, who played alongside Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, was hailed as a 'gamechanger' for his work with the California squad in the past few years.

He led MVP Steph Curry and co to lift the trophy in 2015, with many pundits - and even then-President Barack Obama - praising his unique style.

But on Sunday, less than two years later, the NBA darling announced he may be forced to step aside due to lingering side effects from surgery, which he underwent in summer 2015 to repair a ruptured disc.

Blighted by round-the-clock headaches and nausea, he missed the first 43 games after winning the title. Now he may have to forfeit coaching the Warriors during this year's play-offs, and may not be able to return next season.

Kerr's damning words on Sunday shed light on the crippling toll back surgery has on patients - including Tiger Woods, the second-most decorated golfer in history who has just had his fourth back operation in three years, as injury pushes him further and further down the rankings.

Speaking to Daily Mail Online, doctors have praised Kerr for highlighting a serious problem: that back operations should not be taken lightly, since up to 30 percent are unsuccessful and can lead to even more excruciating pain.

From 1993 to 1998, Kerr (left) played alongside Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, winning championships from 1996 to 1998. In 1997, Woods (right) won his first of four Masters Tournaments. Kerr ended his career with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003 and Woods has not won a Tournament since 2005

In July 2015, Steve Kerr underwent back surgery to repair a ruptured disc. 

The surgery created a spinal fluid leak, which needed to be repaired by a second surgery that September.

The discomfort never left Kerr over the past two years and he has experienced a barrage of headaches and nausea.

In the 2015-16 season, Kerr missed the first 43 games.

However, being gone for games three and four as the Warriors play the Portland Trailblazers to advance in the playoffs has raised fears that the coach will miss the rest of the postseason as well.

Unless the pain subsides, Kerr is prepared to let assistant coach Mike Brown step in to lead the Warriors on their championship chase.

Kerr has been very vocal about the misery he's dealt with since his operations. After announcing he'd be missing playoff games on Friday, the coach said he regretted his decision to undergo the surgery.

'I can tell you if you're listening out there, if you have a back problem, stay away from surgery,' Kerr said on Sunday.

'I can say that from the bottom of my heart. Rehab, rehab, rehab. Don't let anybody get in there.' 

Dr Steven Shoshany, a chiropractor based in New York, told Daily Mail Online that there is a condition called Failed Back Surgery Syndrome, a term used to describe patients who have not had a successful result with back surgery.

According to the American Academy of Physicians, 20 to 30 percent of those surgeries are unsuccessful.

'Surgery is permanent, they're removing the lamina, the pillar of how weight is carried on the spine,' said Dr Shoshany.

'So then pressure comes off the nerve that's in pain, but later the segment above it gets injured.

'So if someone goes in to have their L5 disc removed, they're back in a few years later and this time it's the L4.'

Dr Shoshany said there are several ways that patients can have non-invasive treatments for their pain.

Ever since Kerr announced that he'd be taking time off to recover from his back pain, rumors have circulated that his coaching days with the Warriors, a job he's held since 2014, are limited (pictured with player Steph Curry in January 2017)

'Chiropractic adjustments are the safest, most effective way to get back to feeling better without drugs because we're addressing the underlying problem, not masking the symptoms,' he said.

'Tiger Woods is on his fourth surgery now. Just because you have one surgery, that doesn't mean the problem is fixed.'

In April 2014, Woods, the second-most decorated golfer in history, withdrew from the Honda Classic after 13 holes of the final round, citing back pain.

He underwent surgery in April 2014 and again in September 2015, but has struggled ever since to regain his dominant form.

By March 2015, Woods had fallen outside the top 100 in the World Golf Ranking, the first time this occurred since he began playing in 1996. 

Last week, Woods announced that he had undergone his fourth back surgery since 2014 to alleviate back and leg pain. 

Because recovery time required up to six months, the golfer would miss the rest of the season. 

'If you get away between three and five years without any pain, that's lucky,' Dr Shoshany said.

'I always tell my patients because of the high cost, the side effects, and the long recovery, exhaust all other options before surgery.

'Chiropractic treatment should be the lead in dealing with lower back pain.'