Will A Herniated Lumbar Disc Heal On It's Own?

I have been treating herniated discs in Dallas for over 7 years now.
I have helped hundreds of herniated disc patients return to more normal lifestyles...some have had complete recoveries.
During this time...one of the most common questions I have been asked is...
Will my herniated lumbar disc heal by itself?
And, this is a great question...and the answer is...maybe. Some do-some don't.
Heck...there are people every day that suffer herniated discs in the low back and never even know it.
It's the patients that know they have herniated discs that are not responsive to conventional treatment methods that are the problem. They are a small subset of the overall pool of people who have a herniated disc.
Why is this? Well...I guess it's just the way the disc is positioned in the spinal canal or nerve channels. The disc fragments can get lodged in there in such a way that the body is unable to heal itself. This traps the nerve roots or puts pressure on the spinal cord, which can cause severe low back pain, sciatica, and all kinds of other problems.   
Sometimes, traditional chiropractic can be very effective treatment for lumbar disc herniations. But sometimes it does nothing. 
At my office, we incorporate Chiropractic and Active Release Techniques (ART) to successfully manage most lumbar disc syndromes. 
So yes, herniated discs do repair themselves when they can...but when they can't they need some help...and it doesn't have to be back surgery either. In fact...some say back surgery is a thing of the past. I don't know about that...I think we need both surgical and nonsurgical treatments for everything.