INTRODUCTION

"It's a miracle. I feel like a whole new person," raves 61-year old Kathleen Ross about what some believe to be a remarkably effective form of therapy for low back pain called vertebral axial decompression, or VAX-D®. "I was in such pain from a chronic slipped vertebra that I couldn't bear to sit. Then lying down was the only way to relieve the pain. I was afraid I'd be this way for the rest of my life."

For years people like Kathleen, who suffer from chronic and acute low back pain, have relied on conventional therapies that included bed rest, manipulation, pain medication, and, in the most severe cases, surgery. Now an increasing number of patients are being referred by their physicians and surgeons to VAX-D® therapy.

VAX-D® is a noninvasive treatment that is said to work by alternately stretching and relaxing the lower spine, gently "distracting" the lumbar vertebrae and decompressing the intervertebral discs. In most cases, patients find they can now move more and get long- lasting relief from the crippling pain that comes with a variety of lower back problems.