If I Lose Weight, Will My Buffalo Hump Go Away? Complete Guide
By Holly Grace Callis | Published on June 22nd, 2025
A buffalo hump can show up slowly. Many people are surprised when they see a rounded bump at the back of the neck. This dorsocervical fat pad makes a visible curve that can hurt. Many people ask: if I lose weight will my buffalo hump go away?
The answer depends on what causes your buffalo hump. Weight loss can help reduce some types of neck hump, but not all. Learning the difference between fat-based bumps and other health issues is key to finding the right buffalo hump treatment.
This guide covers what you need to know about buffalo hump causes when weight loss helps, and what other treatment options work. You'll learn how to find your specific problem and take steps toward buffalo hump removal.
What Is a Dorsocervical Fat Pad?
A buffalo hump is a rounded bump that forms at the back of the neck, right above the shoulder blades. The medical name for this area is the dorsocervical fat pad. It's a collection of body fat that can get bigger for different reasons.
The dorsocervical fat pad sits at the base of your neck, where your neck spine meets the upper back. This fat pad works like cushioning and stores energy. But when it gets too big, it makes the bump shape that people notice.
Buffalo Hump vs. Dowager's Hump
Many people mix up a buffalo hump with a dowager's hump, but they're different:
-Buffalo hump: Made of extra fat in the neck area
-Dowager's hump: Caused by bone changes in the spine
A dowager's hump happens when the spine's bones change, often from weak bones. A buffalo hump is mostly fat tissue. This difference matters for treatment. You can lose fat through different methods, but bone health needs other approaches.
Common Causes of a Buffalo Hump Back of the Neck
Learning what causes your buffalo hump helps you know if weight loss will work. Several things can make fat build up in the back of the neck.
Cushing's Syndrome and Hormone Problems
Cushing's syndrome is one of the best-known causes of buffalo hump. This medical condition happens when your body makes too much cortisol over time. The extra hormone makes fat build up in certain areas, including the neck fat pad.
Other hormone problems can also make neck humps form. Problems with the adrenal gland change how much cortisol your body makes. Pituitary gland problems mess up hormone control. These conditions might cause additional symptoms like excess hair growth or stretch marks.
When Cushing's syndrome causes your buffalo hump, losing weight alone might not fix the problem. The main cause needs treatment first.
Medicine-Related Causes
Some medicines can cause fat buildup at the back of the neck. Glucocorticoid medications are often prescribed for swelling and immune system problems. These drugs copy what cortisol does in your body.
Antiretroviral medications used to treat HIV can also change where fat goes in your body. This includes buffalo hump and changes in the upper arms. Other prescription medications that change how your body works might add to excess fat in this area.
Lifestyle and Health Problems
Poor posture plays a big role in buffalo hump development, especially when leaning forward a lot. Excess weight throughout the body often includes more fat storage in the neck area.
Some health issues like digestive and kidney diseases can change hormone balance and add to fat buildup. Kidney diseases might change how your body handles certain medicines or keep the right fluid balance.
Rare Health Problems
Some uncommon health problems can cause buffalo hump. Madelung disease causes weird fat deposits around the neck. Multiple symmetrical lipomatosis makes fat grow in certain body areas in a pattern. These rare diseases need special medical care and usually don't get better with simple weight loss.
Will Losing Weight Help Buffalo Hump Removal?
Weight loss can work for some people, but it's important to know when it helps and when other methods might be needed.
If I Lose Weight, Will My Buffalo Hump Go Away?
The honest answer is: sometimes. Weight loss can make a buffalo hump smaller when extra fat is the main cause. If your neck hump grew along with overall weight gain, losing weight might make it look much better.
But weight loss won't help if your buffalo hump comes from hormone problems, medicine side effects, or rare diseases that change how fat spreads. Keeping a healthy weight matters, but fixing the main cause is more important.
When losing weight, you can't control where fat comes off first. Some people lose excess fat from their neck area early. Others see changes there last. Fat cells in the dorsocervical fat pad can get smaller with weight loss. But keeping the weight off is important for long-term buffalo hump changes.
Additional Treatment Options for Buffalo Hump
Besides weight management, several methods can help reduce buffalo hump appearance and make you feel more comfortable.
Posture and Physical Therapy
Making your posture better can really help with the buffalo hump appearance. A physical therapist can teach you specific neck stretches and exercises to make your posture better and make your upper back muscles stronger.
An exercise regimen focused on core strength and upper back movement helps fix muscle problems that cause poor posture. Regular movement stops stiffness and helps better alignment all day long.
Supportive Tools to Make Posture Better and Reduce Pressure
Special tools can help support your posture work and give relief while you work on long-term solutions:
Thera Pillow
The Thera Pillow combines heat, deep tissue massage, and spinal decompression to relax tight muscles and gently stretch the cervical spine. Users have noticed improvements in posture, reduced tension, and a lighter neck after just the first session.
Mirella Contour Pillow
TheMirella Contour Pillow's contoured design gives you some night support. It works by encouraging a more natural cervical curve. The Mirella works with the Thera Pillow to maintain alignment, assisting with overnight recovery.
Healthy Diet and Lifestyle Habits
A healthy diet helps both weight management and overall health. Focus on lean proteins, vegetables, and whole grains while eating less processed foods. Anti-inflammatory foods might help reduce fat buildup and help your body's natural healing.
Medical and Surgical Help
When basic treatments don't give enough improvement, medical and surgical options might be needed to fix your buffalo hump.
Buffalo Hump Treatment Options
If lifestyle changes don't make your buffalo hump better, health problems might need medical attention. Your healthcare provider might suggest tests to check hormone levels or rule out Cushing's syndrome.
The National Institute of Health says somemedical conditions need specific treatment before buffalo hump improvement can happen. Internal medicine specialists can help find complex health problems.
Magnetic resonance imaging might be used to look at the fat pad structure in detail.
Sometimes, treating the main cause is needed before seeing a fat reduction. This creates an increased risk of disappointment if you only focus on weight loss without fixing medical reasons for fat buildup.
Buffalo Hump Removal Procedures
When other treatments don't work, surgical buffalo hump removal might be an option. Cosmetic surgery procedures like traditional liposuction can remove excess fat from the neck area. Surgical removal methods are usually outpatient procedures.
However, surgery has risks and costs that non-surgical methods don't have. Many healthcare providers suggest trying basic treatments first. If you wonder, "Can a buffalo hump be removed" with surgery, the answer is yes. But recovery time and possible problems should be thought about.
Alternative Medicine for Buffalo Hump
Some people find relief through alternative medicine methods that work with traditional treatments.
Treatment Options
Massage therapy can help blood flow in the neck area and might reduce muscle tension. Acupuncture and chiropractic care might help with posture improvement and pain relief related to neck hump.
While these treatments won't directly reduce fat buildup, they can help related symptoms and make you feel better overall. Always talk about alternative treatments with your healthcare provider, especially if you have health problems.
Mental Health and Body Image Support
Dealing with changes in body image can be hard. A buffalo hump might affect your confidence or how you feel about how you look. Support groups and professional counseling might help if body image concerns affect your daily life.
Focusing on overall health improvements rather than looks alone can help keep motivation for positive lifestyle changes.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Talk to your healthcare provider if your buffalo hump grows quickly or comes with other symptoms. They can do a physical examination, look at your medical history for any medical reason behind the fat buildup, and order the right tests.
Early checking is important because some health conditions that cause buffalo hump can lead to other health problems if not treated.
Final Thoughts: Can You Get Rid of a Buffalo Hump Naturally?
If you're dealing with a buffalo hump, losing weight can help in many cases, but it won't fix everything. The best approach often combines weight management, posture improvement, and fixing any health problems.
When used regularly, supportive tools like the Thera and Mirella pillows from Callixe can work with your treatment plan by making alignment better and reducing tension. Your body responds best to support that's both steady and gentle.
Small changes today— making your posture better, starting a healthy diet to lose excess fat, or using supportive tools—can lead to meaningful improvement over time. If you're ready to take action, consider trying thesegentle, effective tools.
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