((((dcs))))) i know what you're going through. although i never had issues with my back, i had issues with my knees. i couldn't do much anything with my knees because they hurt like crazy and the pain relievers didn't do the trick. i had physical therapy twice and they didn't help, but made them worse. i had surgery on my knees 7 years ago, one at a time. i was glad that i was persistent in getting something done on my knees. at first, i was given 50-50 chance of relief as well. i jumped at the chance anyway, since i kept an open mind. i only hoped for a partial improvement. it turned out that i had chondromalacia syndrome pretty bad, and the surgeon said that the surgery would be the only thing that would have helped. sure enough, the surgery went beyond my expectations because not only did it give me my knees back, but i was able to do things i had never been able to do before in my life. yeah, it took physical therapy to relearn how to walk and months of recovery. but, i'm glad i did it. it was so worth it. yeah, i can understand how it is when you're grapping with the chances that something might go wrong, and you're right - you will have less or no pain. i'd go for less pain. for years before the surgery, i walked funny because of my knees. i was limping on both knees! since the surgery, i've been able to walk pretty normally, except my equibrium is a bit off due to equilibrium imbalance. i've never been able to tackle the stairs prior to the surgery. since the surgery, i use the stairs plenty. so, it's pretty cool. i wish you the best for your back....