I fell last spring and sprained my wrist badly. I didn’t see a doctor then but now I’m wondering if I should go. The wrist doesn’t move quite right, and there’s an odd bump on the thumb side of my wrist. It’s almost as big as the bump that’s normally on the right side. Would seeing a doctor make any difference at this point?

It could very well make a difference — now and later. If you have a fracture the doctor would be able to see if it has healed or not. Sometimes when a broken bone isn’t put in a cast or even when it is, it doesn’t always heal or heal properly. This is called a nonunion fracture.

If that’s the case, then the first step would be to get you on the road to real recovery. If the bone has healed in the wrong position then all the bones in that row of wrist bones may be out of line. The bones may start to collapse. They will wear unevenly causing arthritic changes.

Treatment to avoid such complications may be possible. A trip to an orthopedic surgeon or hand specialist is likely a very good idea for you.