Ask a doctor - Why is bone cancer more painful during night?

Q. Why is bone cancer more painful during night?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Seconmedic Expert

Bone cancer is absolutely a painful condition, and the fact that some people experience more pain during night is no surprise. This phenomenon has been noted for many years in medical literature and it appears to be linked to two main factors - increased inflammation at night, and physical activity levels.

Inflammation: Bone tumors produce inflammatory substances which can cause swelling, redness, heat, tenderness as well as bone pain. It’s known from research that there are higher rates of inflammation present in the body at night compared with during the day or following exercise. This could make bone pain worse overnight as the inflamed areas of your body become subjected to higher levels of inflammatory substances produced by your tumor cells.

Physical Activity Levels: Pain perception can greatly vary depending on activity levels. When we increase our physical activity throughout the day this will often lead to improved circulation around tumorous regions which can help relieve some of the pressure causing pain thereon. At night however when we slow down or rest completely these levels may drop back down again leading to an increase in discomfort again within those areas affected by tumor growths or metastasis'.