hard mass under neck musle

[crestor02]

Hi,  23 y/o female........I have a question regarding a lump in my neck muscle.  It has been there for about a year and I dont think it has grown any larger.  It seems to be located deep to the sternomastoid muscle just under the mastoid process of the skull.  My doctor said it felt like a trigger point...however it does not hurt at all and feels like it is almost inside or attached to the muscle.  It is not visible to the naked eye and can only be felt when slight pressure is applied directly over the muscle.  It seems to be aobut 2x2cm and feels like bone.  No other symptoms besides anxiety...... please help I am paranoid

[oxana1903]

I've got just the same thing. A hard like a stone lump just under my left ear. When I got it checked it appeared an enlarged lymph node inside the muscle. It's been there for over 2 months but it doesn't grow. At the same time i've got a few other pea sized nodes. they don't go away. since test don't show any abnormalities i suppose the cause has been type 3 herpes

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  I don't think you need to worry too much if that neck lump has not grown for a year, and has not caused any other symptom.  It might be muscle spasm ("trigger point") as your doctor claims.  It might also be an enlarged lymph node (lymph nodes can be found underneath the sternocleidomastoid muscle).  What you can do is to observe it for a few months.  If it grows any bigger or starts causing symptoms (e.g. pain), then that would probably be the time to have it checked again by the doctor, for a possible biopsy.