Question
On any given day, there are at least 10 lumps/knots in my
lower back, along my spine and the top of my shoulder
blades.I first noticed them in 2005. Since then, they come
and go and the severity varies. For the last 3-4 months they
have not gone away and seems to be getting worse. By worse,
I mean bigger and multiplying. What is causing this? Stress?
Could it mean something serious?


Answer
Leslie,

Fatty tumors or lipomas are fleshy, thick, football-shaped lumps that sit under the skin.  They do not come and go.  Either you've got them or not, and they usually just get bigger over the years.   Taught/tender muscle fibers can feel like a lump, but more so like a knot, are not under the skin, but burried into the muscle or at the border between the muscle and the connective tissue that surrounds the muscle.  These can come and go.  Postural stress and strain to the joints can provoke these.   If you had something serious, it likely would have had serious effects over the last 4 years.   Go and find a good chiropractor to get these things checked out.   If it's just muscular knots, they can be worked out most easily with Graston Technique (see: www.grastontechnique.com).

Hope this helps.

Dr. G

www.drgillman.com