Painful bump on the back of my neck

So about a month or so ago my boyfriend commented that the top of my spine kind of sticks out.  I didn't really think anything of it until it started getting more pronounced, and now it is causing me pain.  Like...it feels like a really bad stiff neck and it hurts more when I touch it.  I looked up symptoms on webmd, and they didn't help much.  It doesn't feel like a cyst...it feels like part of my bone.  I don't want to go to a doctor if I'm just being a hypochondriac...has anyone ever heard of anyone who has a bone sticking out of the top of their spine? 

Unfortunately I haven't. I know when people get ear or throat infections the lymph nodes in the back of the neck can get inflammed, swollen and sore however those are at the base of the skull mainly not at the top of the spine. Better safe than sorry, pay a visit to your GP.

i am not a doctor and can not be held responsible as i am not giving you a diagnosis, this is merely an opinion.

Sounds like it could possibly be a cyst. When a cell inflames and creates a cyst the amount of water inside can create enough pressure to feel like it is hard as bone. I would recommend visiting your physician.

i have this - sometimes doctors call it a buffalo hump which is a fatty deposit at the top of your spine, but mines not fat its bony, alot of times people with certain disorders like cushings or pcos will get this fatty deposit due to the excess cortisol production in their body which places fat in abnormal areas. but like i said, mine isnt fat and i've actually had it since i was really young, like younger than 10 i'd say.  my dad has it and do does everyone on his side of the fam. lately though, it has been hurting me, so im kind of thinking about going to the doc and getting a mri or catscan of my spine to see if something more serious is going on, can't hurt right? i am a professional hypochondriac though, so i'm not sure my dr will go along with this but, i'm giving it a try.

good luck and i hope i helped somehow..

I have this too.  I've had this on my neck for about 15 years, and it only recently started hurting.  I have a friend who's a director of spinal surgery in LA and he recommended I get some imaging done to see why it's hurting.  It seems as though it actually migrated over an inch or two and it's resting on a nerve bundle.  I'm curious whether you had an mri or catscan, and if so, what was the diagnosis?  A good friend of mine who is an excellent gp said it's a fatty tumor, or fatty lypoma (sp?), but I can't find much on the web about it.  Let me know what you found out about yours.  Thanks!

Long story short - you're not being a hypochondriac. I don't know what it is, but if it hurts and it's not something terribly normal, like a bruise - go ahead and go see a doctor :)

Like you, I've a lump on the back of my neck since I was a kid. It was discovered when I was in the 7th grade. Back then, a chiropractor told my mom I had Scoliosis. He told us to put a piece of thick plywood between my mattress and sleep flat on my back. Well, I did that for years and nothing changed. At that time the lump was hard but small and you could feel it but it wasn't visible. As I grew older the lump grew as well. I went to another chiropractor at age 21 who told me it was just swollen and to apply hot and cold compresses. Then to a spine specialist at age 28 who confirmed I did not have Scoliosis and referred me to an Endocrinologist. I saw him for years now and he has addressed all my problems but the hump. He said it just happens with some people. I've also gone to a GP doc who said the same. Now at 33 years old the hump is very noticeable and I never where my hair up. It is also extremely painful (In fact I'm in a lot of pain right now). I am so frustrated and have hit a dead end. I'm so tired of being blown off about this thing. It is very painful and embarrasing!!

I actualy went to my Doctor 2 weeks ago for my 6 week check up for my diabtetes, and show him the same bump in the same area you have. He said it was just a small cyst not to worry. I don't know if it's what you have or not. But the only reason I showed him was due to the pain mine sometimes causes me. I get neck pain, upper shoulder pain, and sometimes headaches, and at times it's sore to the touch as well. You should at least go to the doctor and have him check it.

A cyst, if that's what it is, is generally benign unless it hurts or gets in the way of a vital function. It hurts, and is near your spine (which you need to do lots of things.) So get it checked out!

P.S. - A friend of ours just had to have surgery to remove a cyst that had worked itself around one of her vertebre. That stuff is serious.