Questionable pain

[Noobcake]

I few days again, I experenced a pain from the upper part of my neck and it seemed to enter the lower part of my brain. It would throb and got away for a millasecond then come back. As I was in the waiting room of the hospital, my mother was rubbing my neck and she felt a bump on my head. She then asked me if I had fallen and I had confirmed that I had not. She was terrified by that point. That same day, as I was in my room at the hospital I had starting coughing like crazy. I was wondering what has been causing me such trouble. Can anyone please help me?

[playboy953]

i really think u need to demand a ct scan or mri scan and see what the results show up then take it from there . i cant say what the lump is but you need to really get it checked .

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Though it is very difficult to diagnose a lump without examination, I will try my best to list the possibilities and explain how each lump is diagnosed. In some people the occipital bone at the back of the skull has a protuberance. This is a normal finding. Another normal finding is a protruding spine of cervical vertebra due to bad posture. The other possibilities are a cyst, a neurofibroma (localized harmless swelling in a nerve), lipoma (localized collection of fat), a swollen lymph node, an abscess, or folliculitis (hair follicle infection). It can also be an acne. Rarely is it a bony tumor like osteoma. I think you should discuss these possibilities with your doctor. Apart from lipoma, other lumps can be painful.
Pain at the back of the head could also be a case of occipital neuralgia. This usually happens due to spinal nerve compression because of upper cervical spinal nerves caused by overuse of computers, work involving straining of neck, herniated disc, canal stenosis, bone disease, spondylosis, poor posture. You should have a MRI focusing only on C1-3 and also look at C1-2 instability. These can be treated with occipital nerve blocks, physiotherapy, medications etc.
A stiff neck due to muscle contraction can also cause occipital headaches. These can be treated with physiotherapy, medications etc.
Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Take care!