Contents
-
news
-
Health
Feeling a lump between your shoulders? May be due to high stress levels; technical information
Hump behind the shoulders: Too much cortisol or stress hormones can cause one of the main symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome: a fatty hump between the shoulders, a round face, and pink or purple stretch marks on the skin. Cushing’s syndrome commonly affects children, teenagers, and adults – most commonly those aged 25–50. Read on to know ways to reduce it.
While cortisol is part of your body’s natural response to threats of harm or danger, too much stress leads to Cushing’s syndrome or hypercortisolism.
Hump behind shoulders: Frequent stress, especially around festivals, is common as most people juggle between work and family commitments. However, chronic stress and certain underlying conditions can increase your cortisol levels – leading to a number of symptoms including weight gain, fatigue and a hunch between the shoulders – known as Cushing’s syndrome.
While cortisol is a part of your body’s natural response to threats of harm or danger, experts say that if cortisol is consistently too high, it usually causes an underlying health problem like Cushing’s syndrome or hypercortisolism.
Symptoms of Cushing’s Syndrome
Apart from the hump between the shoulders, few Signs and Symptoms of Cushing’s Syndrome include:
- weight gain
- Fat accumulates, especially in the middle part of your face, which becomes round and moon-shaped.
- Purple stretch marks around your breasts, arms, stomach, and thighs
- Thinning of the skin, which makes it easier to bruise
- injuries to your skin that are very slow to heal
- Acne and other skin problems
- fatigue and tiredness
- muscle weakness
- high blood sugar levels
- high blood pressure
- increased urination
- mood swings
- irritability and depression
- Increase in the number of infections
Why does high cortisol cause a hump in the back?
According to experts, high levels of cortisol lead to increased fat synthesis – which starts getting deposited in and around your neck, known as lipodystrophy. This condition produces the characteristic buffalo hump – which may also be caused by adrenal tumors, lung tumors, or glucocorticoid medications.
In addition, small tumors develop outside some glands, which are usually malignant. The most common type is small-cell lung cancer.
Who is affected by Cushing’s syndrome?
According to experts, the people most affected by Cushing’s syndrome include children, teenagers and adults – mostly people aged 25-50 years. People who take cortisol medications to treat asthma and rheumatoid arthritis are also vulnerable.
About 70 percent of people with Cushing’s syndrome are women.
How is Cushing’s syndrome diagnosed?,
According to doctors, if they suspect hypercortisolism – there are some guidelines they can follow. In addition to asking you questions about what’s causing the stress, they’ll also take a look at your medical history – do a physical examination, and then some lab tests.
Diagnosing Cushing’s syndrome can sometimes be difficult. If you tell the doctor you’re experiencing fatigue and weight gain, they may not immediately think of Cushing’s syndrome. These types of symptoms are common in many different types of diseases.
Many times this syndrome is mistaken for polycystic ovary syndrome or metabolic syndrome. So, a urine cortisol test, saliva test, low dose dexamethasone suppression test, high dose dexamethasone suppression test, MRI, CT scan and a bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling can be done to get a proper diagnosis.
How is Cushing’s syndrome treated?
According to experts, the type of treatment depends on the underlying cause of high cortisol levels. If you use glucocorticoids – the doctor will reduce the dose or prescribe a non-glucocorticoid drug.
Apart from this, doctors can also include chemotherapy, medicines, radiation and surgery to remove the hump.
Get the latest news live on Times Now with breaking news and top headlines from around the world.
