Hi Zymergist and welcome to the ADR Boards !
One place that comes up often for So Cal and that I have a little experience with is the Spine Institute down in Santa Monica. They do lots of ADR procedures as well as fusions and other less invasive procedures. I bet they would give you a decent termite inspection. You could find out if a full tenting was needed or perhaps just a local treatment would work.
I did the home traction thing to and found it never did much of anything other than when I was sitting directly under it. I eventually ended up having a 2 level fusion, which actually in my case worked out the best for everyone. My surgeon worked out of both a private practice up by my home and with the Santa Monica Spine Institute... so I had the input from both areas. And because I was part of a clinical trial I am followed up by the guys down in Santa Monica even now.
The important thing now is to get all your tests together so you can let the second, third, fourth opinion doc see what's going on. AND it's really important to find out the exact cause of your pain. Is it disk generated? Is it nerve generated or is there another cause.
You will find there are several here on the boards that have a wealth of information. As you come up with questions don't hesitate to ask them. We'll try to get them answered !!