Pea-size lump above collarbone causing neck and shoulder soreness?

[adannaya2]

I have a pea-size lump about 2 inches above my collarbone and to the right of center on my neck.  It is wedged between 2 muscles, and it is very movable.  I had it checked by my GP, who told me that in her opinion it was most likely a little cyst, and not to worry about it unless it grew in size.  It hasn't grown, but I have since noticed that when I press on the muscles to either side of the lump, those muscles are unbelievably tense, and that tension is contributing to chronic pain in the muscles on the right side of my neck and shoulders.  In addition, I often have numbness in the first three fingers of my right hand, soreness in my right forearm and bicep, and soreness in my right hip.  These may all be unrelated, but my left side is not bothered by the same type of pain.  I am an active person, excersize and stretch regularly.  Any thoughts about whether the cyst could be affecting the nerves on the right side of my body?  The GP said removing it would be very difficult because it is sort of deeply buried between those muscles, and near lots of arteries and veins.  Should i get a second opinion from an oncologist?  

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

A second opinion from an oncologist would not be necessary. If the mass is not growing and is freely movable, it is unlikely to be cancerous. However your symptoms may or may not be related to the lump, depending on its location. I would suggest getting these evaluated by your primary care physician initially and depending on the cause suspected/ diagnosed, it can be managed accordingly or specialist care may be sought.
Hope this helps.

Take care!

[Dalema]

Hi, all these hard lumps in people's necks seem to be trigger points - muscle knots that can become as hard as rock with time.  Knots in the scalene muscles in the neck can cause pain and numbness in the arm and fingers.  I am a singer and have been trying to remove these knots in my neck with self-massage for almost 2 years.  I have massively improved the situation, working on one side more than the other to have a comparison.  I had what felt like a pinched nerve in my left arm every time I raised it at a certain angle.  This has completely gone since doing the massage on my neck.  

Tense knots in the neck more than likely mean tenseness in other parts of the body.  How is your breathing?  If you shallow breathe, this causes the muscles in the neck to be come tense.  No amount of massage will improve the situation if your breathing is not corrected - the problem will persist.  Learning how to breathe correctly is the first step.  To be able to breathe correctly, all the muscles around the ribs in the front and back need to be freed up so the lungs can expand.  I suggest doing yoga and meditation to relax the body and free up the breathing.  

[philnoir]

Muscle spasm is a sizeable component of many kinds of chronic pain, and self massage is a great treatment.

I use a tool a bought from a chiropractor over 30 years ago, so it is certainly durable. It is curved to allow me to put pressure on back and shoulders where my arms cannot reach, and has rounded knobs for pushing pressure points.

The product is called a Theracane, and you can find it on the internet. I use mine all the time -- it's hanging over the back of my office chair as I write this.

But be careful -- some spots in the human body are not meant to be pushed. Certain locations in the neck can induce a dangerous reflex, and never poke the abdomen with strong pressure. This tools is meant to loosen muscle spasm, so please, use only on muscle.

And if you've ever seen Star Trek, by all means keep away from that spot on the shoulder where Mr Spock squeezes to subdue unruly Klingons. It can be deadly!