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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Numbness At The Site Of Intramuscular Injection?

Hello. Four months ago i had an intramuscular painkiller injection in my buttocks which hurted a lot and became numb since then. The numb area is on the injection site and it has an 8cm diameter. Why it has not gone away after 4 months? Should i worry about a permanent damage? And also what caused it? Did it hit a nerve or artery? It still hurts sometimes too but there is no redness or other symptoms.
Thank you.
posted on Wed, 20 May 2015
Twitter Tue, 2 Jun 2015 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 2 Jun 2015 Last reviewed on
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Dentist,  's  Response
Hi..
Can understand your concern..

As per your complain if you had severe pain while the injection was given to you it shows that it must have pricked the nerve fibres located in that area as the nerves carry sensations to different parts of the body and when a nerve fibres is directly pricked it leads to severe pain

The second part of your question is that when the nerve is injured there can be a loss of sensation in the area where the nerve provides sensations and in your case the injury to the nerve fibre must have caused numbness in that area.

The time duration in which it will recover is mostly unpredictable and it can take from weeks to months or even years for the sensations to return.

You can wait and watch for some more time to check whether the sensation return or not and can consult a neurologist after few more months before you land up to think for permanent nerve damage.

Hope your query is solved..

If you find the answer helpful please write a positive review and click on find this answer helpful as a token of appreciation..

Thanks and regards..
Dr.Honey Nandwani Arora.
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What Causes Numbness At The Site Of Intramuscular Injection?

Hi.. Can understand your concern.. As per your complain if you had severe pain while the injection was given to you it shows that it must have pricked the nerve fibres located in that area as the nerves carry sensations to different parts of the body and when a nerve fibres is directly pricked it leads to severe pain The second part of your question is that when the nerve is injured there can be a loss of sensation in the area where the nerve provides sensations and in your case the injury to the nerve fibre must have caused numbness in that area. The time duration in which it will recover is mostly unpredictable and it can take from weeks to months or even years for the sensations to return. You can wait and watch for some more time to check whether the sensation return or not and can consult a neurologist after few more months before you land up to think for permanent nerve damage. Hope your query is solved.. If you find the answer helpful please write a positive review and click on find this answer helpful as a token of appreciation.. Thanks and regards.. Dr.Honey Nandwani Arora.