Rough guide: a mild sprain or strain improves noticeably within 2-3 days and heals in 1-3 weeks; bruises fade in about 2 weeks. Pain that is not clearly improving after the first few days, or is still limiting you after two weeks, deserves a look.
The trend matters more than the day count: an injury on the normal track hurts a little less each day. Worry signs are a flat or worsening trend, pain that wakes you at night, giving-way or instability, and numbness or tingling. Any of those means stop waiting.
What to do
Common questions
How long should an injury hurt before I worry?
Every injury has a normal healing curve, and worry starts when yours falls off it. The rough timelines: a mild sprain or strain should improve noticeably within 2 to 3 days of home care and heal over 1 to 3 weeks; a moderate one can take 3 to 6 weeks; bruises typically fade over about 2 weeks; broken bones take 6 to 8 weeks or more. But the single best signal is not the calendar, it is the trend: a healing injury hurts a little less each day, swells a little less, moves a little more. The patterns that mean get checked: pain that is flat or worsening after the first 2 to 3 days; pain still limiting you at 2 weeks; pain that wakes you at night; a joint that gives way or feels unstable; numbness, tingling, or color change; and anything that got better then suddenly worse, which can mean a reinjury or a missed fracture. One more honest note: chronic pain is a different conversation - if an old injury has hurt for months, that is worth a proper workup, not more waiting. A free text consult can place your injury on its expected curve and tell you whether your timeline still sounds normal.