Does this describe a Cyst?

Sir,

I am a 29 year old male and have been in good health. The other day I was massaging my lower back, in the area around the hipbone on the left side, and felt something kind of pop or move when pressed against the bone. Because I'm a little heavy and carry some weight there, it is hard to tell how big it is just to say it feels slightly harder than the tissues around it and can be moved slightly. I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question as it seems more of a deep tissue lump than a skin lump; however this is the only forum that I have seen that deals with cysts outside of breast occurrences in females. The question is given my age (and the location of the lump,) should I be worried about this? It causes no pain and might have gone unnoticed if not for sort of stumbling on it. I appreciate your time in answering this question.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Good question.  We have a lot of lumps under the skin which we stumble upon only by accident, just as you describe.  When I was in the second year of medical school, afflicted with the hypochondria typical of that stage of training, I found any number of lumps in that way.  Each threw me into a panic, which in turn propelled me to a doctor for reassurance.

In the location of your lump, the most common type is a lipoma, a collection of fat cells.  These are rubbery and move around under the finger.  Quite benign and worthy of being ignored.

Obviously, proper diagnosis requires that you be examined in person, which is what I recommend you do.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff