Nobody has to figure everything out alone. Lean on the experts, ask your questions and let experience do the heavy lifting.
This photo shows a man in his fifties with grey hair, seen from behind, with a tight red swelling the size of a golf ball over his shoulder blade, while a doctor’s gloved hands hold tweezers and gauze next to it.
A lump like this is most often an inflamed epidermoid cyst. A blocked follicle forms a sac under the skin that slowly fills with keratin over months or years.
Cysts are common on the shoulders and upper back because the follicles there are large and oily, and shirts and straps keep rubbing the same spot.
When the cyst becomes inflamed it can swell fast, turn warm and shiny, and make it uncomfortable to lean back, lift the arm or lie on that side.
A doctor will examine the lump, press gently around it to see how tense it is and check the skin nearby for any smaller bumps.
If it is a cyst, the area is numbed, the lump is opened and drained to relieve the pressure, and the sac inside is taken out so it does not refill.
Afterwards the spot is cleaned and dressed, and keeping it dry and avoiding heavy lifting for a few days helps it heal cleanly.
Keeping the skin clean, choosing softer straps and not squeezing bumps at home all lower the chance of another cyst forming there.
Lean on the experts and let them handle it properly. The videos below show shoulder and back cysts being treated by professionals.
