'I've always wanted to see an alternative'

Bend physicians are testing an alternative to spinal fusion to alleviate severe back pain

By Kayley Mendenhall / The Bulletin
December 3, 2006

After spending a year suffering from numbness in his hands and severe muscle pain in his neck, Kevin Stevens was ready to drop $36,000 on a trip to Germany.

The price tag would go toward surgery to replace two discs in his cervical spine - the seven vertebrae that begin at the base of the skull....

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