[Chasity Hoss]

On Aug 13 of this year I had carpal tunnel release on my left hand and cervical fusion at l4-5. Everything has been healing well. The day after thanksgiving I fell down some stairs and caught myself on my left hand. Immediately it turned red and my hand swollen. I talked to the dr and they didn't seem to concerned. In the last few weeks my arm from my elbow to my hand freezes (sticks) for a few seconds. It doesn't hurt but it's a very strange sensation when I can't move it. My incision site is now very tender. Is the freezing from the fall and should I be concerned?
Chasity

[ma0641]

Don't you think an Orthopedic Doctor would best answer this?

[joypulv]

I would demand a visit and maybe a referral after the new year. Your doctor might have acted unconcerned just to postpone having to deal with it, or he was waiting to see if it would heal by itself.
And YOU need to change your living arrangements. A fall down the stairs is something you want to never happen again, with that surgery behind you.
On the other hand, I have had a knee that 'freezes' and then painfully snaps into place, what is called a trick knee, for years, and never had it looked at. I attribute it to inflammation blocking ease of movement. But you also have problems around the surgical site.
Keep in mind that many, many people scar around surgical sites, internally. That means a lifetime of inflexibility and discomfort. And it may not happen right away. I have a broken finger that got very lumpy 10 years after the break.