Most people have slight bumps and ridges in their skulls, and some are born with a dent in their head. However, a new dent or hollow may be due to trauma or a health condition, such as Gorham's disease. A dent in the head, especially if it is new, requires a trip to the doctor to determine the cause.
The skull bones contain many normal lumps, bumps and ridges. Do not expect the skull to feel smooth. These should not worry you unless they seem to cause pain.
Bumps on the head can be caused by direct injury or trauma, acne, cysts, infections, ingrown hairs, bone spurs, or tumors. Most bumps are caused by something easily explainable. Bumps are rarely caused by tumors. Most bumps on the head are benign and easily treatable.
Cutis verticis gyrata (CVG) is a benign proliferation and hypertrophy involving the scalp which exhibits furrows resembling the cerebral cortex convolutions. The diagnosis of CVG is based on clinical findings. Complementary investigations are recommended to rule out local or systemic underlying disorders.
Contact your provider any time you notice new symptoms or sudden changes that are abnormal for you, such as a new weird feeling in your head that comes and goes, sudden changes in frequency of déjà vu or other abnormal symptoms.
Brain tumor headaches tend to cause pain that's worse when coughing or straining. People with brain tumors most often report that the headache feels like a tension headache. Some people say the headache feels like a migraine. Brain tumors in the back of the head might cause a headache with neck pain.
The structural changes in skull shape with age may be a physiological response to mechanical force (Crockett et al. 2011). Local pressure changes due to gray matter volume (GMV) loss and increased CSF may cause localized mechanical forces, contributing to bone remodeling.
Most people have slight bumps and ridges in their skulls, and some are born with a dent in their head. However, a new dent or hollow may be due to trauma or a health condition, such as Gorham's disease. A dent in the head, especially if it is new, requires a trip to the doctor to determine the cause.
Is a Dent in the Head Permanent? It depends on what caused it. A dent in your head due to something like wearing a tight gaming headset or bumping your head on a door will be temporary. More severe causes of a dent in the head, such as a bone disease or extreme head trauma, may only be permanent if left untreated.
Bony growth
Bony growths, or exostoses, are usually benign bone tumours rarely found on the skull. They can be caused by long-term irritation, osteoarthritis, infection, or trauma. Bony growths can lead to chronic pain.
If it is just soft tissue you can have the defect excised and the hair-bearing scalp defect loosened and used to repair the defect. If there is a loss of bone component to it this can be simply filled in with hydroxyapatite cement (cranioplasty) and the hair-bearing scalp tissue closed over it.
Plagiocephaly (an asymmetrical head), scaphocephaly (a long narrow head) and brachycephaly (a short wide head) can occasionally cause problems for adults.
Morphoea en coup de sabre is a variant of linear morphoea (a localised form of scleroderma) restricted to the frontoparietal region (forehead). The name 'en coup de sabre' (the blow of a sword) derives from the characteristic scar that indents the skin of the scalp and the underlying bone.
Red flags include severe and frequent headaches, seizures, vision problems, difficulty speaking, cognitive and memory issues, numbness or weakness on one side of the body, sudden personality changes, coordination difficulties, and hearing problems.
Spotting leukaemia-related headaches
“I had a banging headache where I could hear my heartbeat in my ears so loud my head felt like it was throbbing, and it would not go away when I lay down.” When headaches are caused by leukaemia, they are likely to occur frequently and are often severe and long lasting.
Pain from a dehydration headache can range from mild to severe. You may feel pain all over your head or in just one spot, like at the back, front or side. The pain usually feels like a dull ache, but it can also be sharp or stabbing. You may have a throbbing (pounding) headache, or the pain might be constant.
People describe a stroke-related headache as a very severe headache that comes on within seconds or minutes. Oftentimes, the area affected by the headache is directly related to where the stroke occurs.
Dizziness is a term that people use to describe a range of sensations, such as feeling faint, woozy, weak or wobbly. The sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is more precisely termed vertigo. Dizziness is one of the more common reasons adults see a healthcare professional.
It is assumed that the grooves and ridges present in the brain define intelligence because as the brain increases in size more neurons get developed which needs more space therefore folds get developed to increase the space in the cortex.
The ridge may be subtle or obvious, but it is normal and usually goes away after a few years.
What can cause bumps to appear on the scalp? A variety of health issues can cause bumps to form on the scalp, including sweating, folliculitis, acne, head lice, and eczema. Treatment will depend on the cause but may include medicated shampoos, ointments, and other topical products.