I am a 51 yr. old female who sustained a blunt truma to my leg in my tibia area. It caused swelling and black and blue and pain. It has been 9 days now, and the swelling and black and blue are almost gone but the pain has increase at night when I try and sleep, waking me up several times at night. The pain is much less during the day when I perform normal sitting, standing and light walking. Stairs are still painful but I can now manuvere them fairly well. My question is why is the pain so much more painful during the night. I try and elivate my leg while laying down. It hurts too much to lay on that side of my leg while sleeping so I avoid it. I was punched by a fist while I was laying down.

Dr. Joshua’s Answer:

Hard to say for sure what’s causing the pain without actually examining your leg. The bad news: There may be a fracture, and an X-ray is recommended. The good news: Pain and other symptoms associated with such trauma tend to subside spontaneously within a few weeks. Since you were assaulted, it’s important to have it examined and documented properly for legal reasons as well.