Sports injuries are physical injuries that occur while playing sports or engaging in physical activities. They can affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bones, and joints and result in you being sidelined from your sport. Anyone who plays sports hates to hear this, and if you, like many other injured professional and amateur athletes, would like to heal as quickly as possible from an injury, you should receive appropriate treatment from the get-go.
When Should You See a Doctor for an Injury?
It is easy to determine that you should see a doctor if your injury is severe. It’s injuries with lingering, mild to moderate symptoms that are more difficult to figure out. Regardless, you should see a medical professional for sports injury treatment if:
- Your injury is not improving after a few days of employing the RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) method.
- There is an obvious deformity or a bone is clearly broken or dislocated.
- The pain and swelling are getting worse.
- The site of injury feels warm.
- You are experiencing numbness or tingling.
- You have a limited range of motion.
- The injured area is unable to bear weight.
- You have developed a fever.
- The symptoms of your injury prevent you from performing daily activities and are impacting your quality of life.
- You want to return to your sport soon.
- You have missed work because of your sports injury.
A medical professional will be able to evaluate your symptoms and order diagnostic imaging to get a better understanding of your injury and design a treatment plan that can relieve your symptoms and speed up your return to your sport.
Where To Seek Sports Injury Care
It is important to know where to go for the expert treatment of a sports injury. Orthopedic urgent care clinics are an excellent option if you want to seek immediate care for a sports injury. Usually, if you make an appointment with a specialist, it takes days, weeks, or months to see the doctor. By then, your sports injury could have already gotten worse, and you will likely delay your recovery.
An orthopedic urgent care clinic has highly-trained medical professionals that can provide expert treatment for orthopedic injuries. Since urgent care clinics are walk-in clinics, you don’t need to set up an appointment days or weeks in advance. These clinics provide quick and efficient care, with little or no wait times to see a medical professional. Affordability is also another benefit, as orthopedic urgent care centers charge less than emergency room visits.
However, be certain about the types of injuries that orthopedic urgent care clinics treat. Severe trauma injuries, such as a broken bone that ruptured the skin, are best treated in an emergency room. Sprains and strains, simple fractures, minor dislocations, dehydration or heat stroke, concussion, joint injuries, and soft tissue injuries can be treated at an orthopedic urgent care clinic.
Orthopedic Urgent Care Clinic in Fairless Hills, PA
For urgent care for a mild to moderate sports injury, trust the physicians at Patient Care Now. Our doctors are emergency room physicians. We treat a wider range of sports injuries than the average urgent care clinic. We can treat you in our world-class urgent care facility with little downtime. We strive to exceed your expectations!
For any questions, call us at (267) 202-6433. Otherwise, simply proceed to our walk-in clinic at 541 S. Oxford Valley Road.
