Seven days ago, I fell on the concrete, hitting my right knee and my left leg just below the knee. The next day, I felt as if there was swelling on that spot on my left leg, while my right knee was fine.
When I touch the area where my left leg was hit, it feels like the leg is numb, as if you’re running your hand over it, and there’s a stabbing pain when pressure is applied. I can move around freely, walk, and there are no problems until I touch the injured area.

The pain and “swelling” are the same intensity even after 7 days. There’s nothing visible on the surface, no sign of swelling, and no bruising. I don’t know what it is and what I should do, wait for it to pass or is there something for treatment?

The peripheral nervous system is composed of a network of nerves branching into smaller branches. This structure allows for the collection of sensory information from the entire surface of the skin, as well as from deep tissues. During trauma (strikes, twists, sprains, strains), nerves can be damaged along with other soft tissues and bones. In this case, it’s a minor nerve ending beneath the skin that’s damaged by the impact, likely accompanied by a small hematoma.

In a large percentage of similar situations, the sensation of numbness and increased tenderness upon pressure typically resolves on its own and doesn’t require any treatment. It may take weeks, or occasionally months, for full recovery. If you wish, you can expedite the process by gently massaging the area of discomfort and its surroundings for 5 minutes two to three times a day. It’s important that the massage is gentle. This will help with the absorption of any present hematoma and improve circulation around the damaged nerve, which should accelerate recovery. Such transient damage to peripheral nerves is called neuropraxia.