Can a herniated cervical disc heal on its own?

A cervical herniated disc cannot heal on its own, and can only be treated conservatively to improve symptoms, or with surgery to remove the disc. Cervical disc herniation is caused by degenerative changes in the cervical spine or long-term poor posture. It is a chronic strain disease that cannot be cured by itself. Cervical disc herniation can be treated conservatively if the symptoms of shoulder and neck pain and hand numbness are not serious. Conservative treatment mainly consists of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pain relief (celecoxib, etc.), dehydrating drugs such as mannitol, and improvement of poor posture in daily life. All of the above medications should be done under a doctor’s supervision, and should not be self-administered. If conservative treatment is not effective in relieving symptoms, surgery can be used. Surgical treatments mainly include anterior and posterior cervical approaches, including discectomy, bone graft fusion, titanium plate cage or self-locking stabilizer internal fixation.