Head versus shower faucet....

[purranha]

About 5 days ago I was standing on one foot in the shower (don't picture it, it's scary). I was actually shaving my legs. My supporting leg kind of went out from under me and I pitched forward and whacked my face on the faucet. I now have a nice goose egg and a huge bruise on my forehead, a very tender spot on my right cheek and I've had a headache and neckache for 5 days. Ibuprofen helps somewhat. Within the the last day or so, my neck has started to hurt really bad and my right arm feels kind of numb, I guess would describe it. I have minimal range of motion in my neck without it really hurting. With it being a 5 day old injury, I don't see this as an emergency room thing but it is getting rather bothersome. Any suggections would be welcome.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
You should immediately consult a doctor—and if going to ER is fastest—then it’s the best route.
You need a MRI of the neck because you have numbness in one arm, and neck stiffness and pain. There may be a compression on your spinal nerves due to spinal injury. The arm numbness can also be due to muscle injury or due to a nerve injury. Also though it may just be a bruise and contusion, your forehead injury needs to be evaluated further. Take care!

[caregiver222]

You should go to an ER. Don't assume you don't have a hairline fracture secondary to the flexure and compression of the cervical bones. That's a worse case scenario, but a real possibility.

Treatment protocols vary. Oral prednisone for a few days, plus intermittant axial traction.  This means a harness and mild traction from six to ten minutes with a long break several times a day. A cervical collar is useful for only a very short time, because it causes loss of muscle tone.