Spinal Decompression? Or Back to Rum or Chardonnay?

Can stretching spinal vertebrae ease lower back and neck pain? Can it circumvent surgery? It’s a question I’ve researched for several years as I suffer from spinal pain. The first spinal clinic I sought looked at my neck MRI’s and concluded that stretching the spine was too dangerous at my age. But recently another doctor agreed to treatment. So, was this therapy more successful than a 5 o’clock rum, or glass of Chardonnay? After the cold and flu, spinal pain is the number one cause of work absence. Studies show that up to 85 percent of the North American population will suffer from back or neck pain at some time during their lives. Often it’s due to a ruptured spinal disc that sends pain down the leg and may cause numbness. Spinal surgery is also the second leading surgical procedure and costs our health care system billions of dollars. Unfortunately, it’s not always successful.