Lipson, in a 2004 paper in the New England Journal of Medicine states that 151,000 spinal fusions are done each year in the US. He advocates restraint because of the complications and typically modest benefits associated with surgery. The end result of surgery can be reduced mobility, stiffness, and continuing pain - "failed back syndrome".

Lipson SJ. Spinal Fusion Surgery - Advances and Concerns. N Engl J Med 350(7):643-4; Feb 2004

"Decompression therapy, addresses both primary and secondary causes of low back and referred leg pain. We thus submit that decompression therapy should be considered first, before the patient undergoes a surgical procedure which permanently alters the anatomy and function of the affected lumbar spine segment."

Eugene S, Kitchener P, Smart R. A prospective Randomised Controlled Study of VAX-D and TENS for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain. J Neuro Research 23 (7); Oct 2001

"Successful reduction of intradiscal pressure with decompression therapy represents a technological advance..."

Naguszewski R. Gose. E. Dermatomal Somatosensory Evoked Potential Decomstration of Nerve Root Decomression After Vax-D Therapy. Journal Neuro Research 23 (7); Oct 2001

"We consider decompression therapy to be a primary treatment modality for low back pain associated with lumbar disc herniation at single or multiple levels, degerative disc disease, facet arthropathy, and decreased spine mobility. We believe that post-surgical patients with persistent pain or "failed back syndrome" should bot be considered candidates for further surgery until a reasonable trial of decompression has been tried."

Gose E, Naguszewski W, Naguszewski R. Vertebral Axial Decompression Therapy for pain associated with herniated or degenerated discs or facet syndrome: an outcome study. J Neuro research 20(4): 186-90; Apr 1998

Disc distraction shows evidence of regenerative potential in degenerated intervertebral discs as evaluated by protein expression, magnetic resonance imaging, and messenger ribonucleic acid expression analysis. "Distraction results in disc rehydration, stimulated extracellular matrix gene expression, and increased numbers of protein-expressing cells."

Guehring T, et al.: Spine. 2006 Jul 1;31(15):1658-65

"Serial MRI of 20 patients treated with the decompression table shows in our study up to 90% reduction of subligamentous nucleus herniation in 10 of 14. Some rehydration occurs detected by T2 and proton density signal increase. Torn annulus repair is seen in all."

Eyerman, Edward MD. Simple pelvic traction gives inconsistent relief to herniated lumbar disc sufferers. Journal of Neuroimaging. Paper presented to the American Society of Neuroimaging, Orlando, Florida 2-26-98.