Can a herniated lumbar disc shrink w/o surgery? The short answer is yes. A herniated disc does not mean that it is causing pain. Even if it correlates with symptoms such as pain, that does not portend surgical intervention for relief of symptoms. Lumbar disc herniations often resolve spontaneously.

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Review of medical literature regarding spontaneous lumbar disc herniations was recently published in the Journal of Neurosurgery(https://doi.org/10.3171/2023.6.SPINE23367).

Surgery may offer faster relief but if the symptoms are bearable and there is no progressive nerve function loss such as weakness or bladder/bowel dysfunction, waiting for spontaneous resolution may be worthwhile.

The caveat is that waiting too long without sensing improvement may be associated with lower chance of resolution with delayed surgery.

A key finding was that larger disc herniations have up to a 90% probability of spontaneous regression. They were also more likely to completely resolve. It took 6 to 16 months (mean time 10 months) for the herniations to completely resolve.