Having A Painless Knot On The Back Of The Neck. Is It Dangerous?

Posted on Thu, 2 Feb 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 Answered on

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : What does it mean when you have a knot on the back of your neck? I have had it for years but I noticed it is a little larger. It does not hurt and it shrinks as I turn my head in a different direction.

Answered by Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (21 minutes later)

Hello

Thanks for the query

If you are having a knot on the back of your neck which is soft in nature and slips under your finger then it is most probably a lipoma. Which nothing but fat cells aggregated together. If the knot you are having is hard in consistency then it is most likely to be a fibroma, which is nothing but fibrous tissue aggregated together. All of these above are pain less and non worrisome.

It is present in between the fibres of the muscle which is why it shrinks when you turn your head.

To know the exact content of the knot you will have to get a fine needle aspiration cytology done, which is a simple procedure of inserting a small needle and aspirating cells from the site and examined under microscope. This is done by your PCP.

Please watch out for these and report to PCP for the above procedure:
1. Rapid increase in size
2. Pus draining from it
3. Pain while turning your head

I hope I have answered your query, if you have no further ones please accept my answer.

I wish you good health

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar