How the hell do skin nerves work and why does my knee still feel weird?

[off]

Not in general health because it doesn't really worry me or cause me any trouble, more that I'm curious how in the hell this works — they didn't really cover it in my double science GCSE.

About six weeks ago, I put my laptop on my bed, plugged it into the power socket on the other side of the room trailing the cable at thigh height, told myself that was a stupid thing to do and to be careful going round the bed, and immediately tripped over it, hurling my (hefty) self to the floor with the force of my landing borne entirely by my left knee. Got a frankly disappointing-looking and strangely numb bruise as a reward (sore if poked, numb if stroked).

Six weeks later, that area of my knee looks entirely normal but is still oddly numb and itchy-but-not.

WTF did I do to the nerves there? Why did they go numb, and why are they still like that a month and a half on? Did I hit the poor bastards so hard I concussed them? (Or even killed them?! Not that it really matters if my left knee has a numb patch of skin for ever more.)

Can anyone explain?

I can't explain it but I had similar on my shin when I fell down a literal rabbit hole in the woods. It took months to stop feeling weird!

I assume I didn't do anything bad to it as I've had no pain or issues in the 18 months since!

Nerves are really fragile and they can bruise, think it can take up to 12 weeks to heal a bruised nerve.

I have permanent nerve damage in my thigh from an operation 3 years ago, it's a palm sized patch and it's so bloody annoying - it's either completely numb to the touch OR itchy as hell because my brain, which clearly didn't get the memo that they'll likely never work again, is trying to get them off the sick.

Nerves bruise? Little buggers!

And yes, either signal or silence, please, not that itch noise. I bet you can't even feel it if you try to scratch the itch away, eandz.

It's promising to hear yours returned to normal, Soup. It does feel weird though, doesn't it, when you're expecting a normal "Ow!" -> bruise and soreness -> no more bruise and soreness, and instead you get skin nerves sulking

I have no input, I'm not sure why but you calling your nerves 'poor bastards' has really tickled me (pun not intended)

Well, my left knee skin nerves have been quietly doing their best for me the last few decades, never let me down, never made a fuss, and then I go and do this to them. Seems unfair.