lump at the back of my neck - General Health Message Board

jimmyhonda · 12-16-2005, 08:09 PM

i notice a lump at the back of my left neck, just under my hair. i told my doctor about this, and he said it's nothing.

it doesn't hurt when i press it - but quite recently, when i touch it again, it looks a bit bigger.

is this something i should worry about?

my neck is quite stiffer than usual - but that's because i have arthritis, that causes stiffness.

o_janus_o · 12-19-2005, 12:33 AM

I'd get a second opinion on that. Although, I have a lump at the back of my neck too. It's *just* to the right of my spine. It often suddenly goes away though after a few days. I'm not sure if it hurts or if it just feels odd to touch it, but either way, I don't really like to. I joke that it's my back of neck cancer. I think it's likely a gland though since it's not always there. Does yours ever go away?

kehorner · 12-19-2005, 02:26 AM

There are lymph nodes back there, on either side of the spine. Could be those.

tina76 · 12-19-2005, 10:40 AM

My guess is the same as kehorner... You could have a gland that is swelling (lymph node). It is actually pretty common to have them swell anywhere from your head down to your groin...

RachelGrace · 12-19-2005, 07:09 PM

It sounds like it could be a lymph node to me. If you press it a lot, it can become larger.

Does it feel really hard?

As my doctor puts it, does it feel like a thumb or a tabletop? (Hopefully you understand that)

Hope this helps somewhat.

~Rachel Grace