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THE HOLY GRAIL OF PAIN RELIEF? CBS SUNDAY MORNING CORRESPONDENT MARTHA TEICHNER REPORTS ON A NEW PROCEDURE TO TREAT THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF BACK PAIN More than 1.3 million Americans undergo spinal surgery each year — more than triple the number of coronary bypass surgeries and more than five times the number of hip replacements. Approximately 300,000 of those back surgeries were spinal fusions, in which vertebrae are joined surgically and held in place with metal screws or rods. For many patients, the surgery is salvation. For others, it can be a nightmare. CBS SUNDAY MORNING correspondent Martha Teichner speaks with patients and doctors, including Dr. Kevin Pauza — founder of

Most adults in the United States will suffer from excruciating chronic back pain at some time in their lives. For the lucky ones, it will be short-lived. For the others, it may continue for weeks, months, or even years. Surgery is the attempted fix for more than 1.2 million Americans suffering from chronic back pain each year, and about 300,000 of these back surgeries were spinal fusion. This procedure is done for herniated discs or other disc injuries and involves joining vertebrae so they cannot move. Often they are held in place with metal screws or rods. However, fusion was

If nothing else cures your back pain, would barbecuing a spinal disc with heat therapy help? In the endless battle against back ailments, some 35,000 to 40,000 patients have turned to a new procedure that uses heated probes to try and heal painful spinal discs. About 3,500 doctors have already been trained in this heat therapy procedure, known as IDET for Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy, since its introduction in 1998. But so far there is no compelling, published evidence that it can relieve back pain. Although the approach has been marketed as an alternative to expensive and risky spinal-fusion surgery, some