Fell Down, Bruised Arm And Shoulder. Having Ear Pressure, Jaw And Glands Under The Jaw Hurt While Chewing

Posted on Sun, 5 May 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 5 May 2013 Answered on

Tue, 28 May 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I fell down my stairs 6 weeks ago and apparently did not break anything. pulled muscles in leg and severlybruised left arm and shoulder. I am still having problems with my head. Dr. said a few weeks ago that it was whiplash. Symtoms still are ear pressure, jaw and glands under the jaw hurt especially by later in the day from chewing or even talking too much. back of head hurts and then i get very anxious. I had mobility of my neck all along. should I have an mri?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (1 hour later)

Hi and welcome to XXXXXXX Thank you for your query.
Considering that your symptoms didnt subside after 6 weeks this can be something significant, but this isnt usual indication for MRI.
In some cases such injuries can cause intensive muscle contusion and swelling which then can press nerves and veins in neck and jaw area.This should completely pull back after 6-8 weeks. If there was injury of TM joint its dislocation or fracture should be ruled out by simple xray exam.

MRI and further tests should be done if you notice some serious signs such as tingling in neck and arms,loss of sensation, inability to move head in all directions, vision and hearing difficulties or unexplained dizziness.
If you dont have these I suggest to take antiinflammatory painkillers and wait for 2 more weeks.
WIsh you good health. If you have any question I ll be glad to help.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar