Bob Anibal, You are 100% right, If a person has a ruptured or bulging disk that is causing nerve compression and other serious problems , then surgery is often helpfull.(even wonderfull). As you say, I was refering to everyday common back pain caused by sore and unused muscles. I think I have seen statistics that about 85% of back pain falls into this catagory. Lanier Maddux 63/1