Sports injuries refer to a group of conditions caused by trauma or muscle or joint overuse with athletic activities. Often, these injuries require immediate treatment to minimize the risk of more serious complications. Emergency rooms may seem like the best choice for these conditions, but it is not always the case.
For non-life-threatening sports injuries that need immediate treatment, urgent care is your best choice. Let’s talk about sports injuries that can be quickly treated in an urgent care facility.
Sprains
One of the most common sports injuries is a sprain. It occurs when the ligaments are stretched or torn. Some circumstances put you at higher risk for sustaining this injury. Walking on an uneven surface may cause an ankle sprain while landing on an outstretched hand during a fall can result in a wrist sprain. Poor sports equipment like wearing ill-fitting shoes is another risk factor for sprains.
Instead of going to the emergency room, an urgent care provider can give you fast and immediate pain relief. They can also treat your condition before it leads to further complications.
Strains
Commonly called pulled muscles, a strain is an injury to your muscle or tendon. It may result from years of overusing your muscles or a sudden pull due to lifting a heavy object. Contact sports like soccer, hockey, and boxing may increase your risk for this condition. If you feel pain, tenderness, swelling, and muscle spasms and weakness, you may have pulled a muscle.
While painful, it is not life-threatening, so you may head to an urgent care center for treatment. An urgent care doctor can evaluate your condition and provide appropriate treatment options for you.
Minor Fractures
Your bones are mostly made of calcium and collagen, giving them the strength and flexibility to support your weight. However, they are also at risk of breaking because of accidents and repetitive stress from high impact, balance, and speed sports. Broken bones or fractures have different classifications. Sometimes, you may hear a snapping sound when your bone breaks.
Minor fractures can be easily treated in an urgent care facility. Urgent care services may include imaging services to diagnose your fracture and durable medical equipment to help with your recovery.
Dislocation
A dislocation occurs when your bones are forced out of their usual spot. It is characterized by swelling and immobility due to pain. Playing hockey, football, volleyball, or doing gymnastics put you at higher risk for bone dislocation. This condition typically affects the shoulders or fingers but may also happen in your elbows, knees, and hips.
Getting immediate proper treatment for your bone dislocation will speed up your recovery time. It also reduces the risk of complications like muscle tears and nerve or blood vessel damage. For mild cases of dislocation, urgent care providers can assess your condition with medical imaging, provide treatment, and recommend the use of assistive devices for your recovery.
Concussion
A traumatic brain injury that causes temporary disorientation and headaches is called a concussion. It results from falls or violent blows to your head due to contact sports like football, hockey, boxing, and soccer. Monitoring hours after it happens is vital in case symptoms worsen and to guarantee there is no further damage to the brain.
If you are experiencing mild symptoms of a concussion such as headaches, nausea, ringing in your ears, and fatigue, go to an urgent care center. They can diagnose your condition, evaluate its severity, provide immediate treatment, and refer you to a neurologist for further monitoring.
Tennis Elbow
Contrary to its name, tennis elbow does not only affect tennis players. Nonetheless, those who play racket sports have a higher risk of developing this condition, often due to poor athletic form and technique. This condition is characterized by gradually increasing burning pain at the outer side of your elbow and forearm.
An urgent care doctor can help relieve this condition’s symptoms with splints or forearm bands, or corticosteroid injections.
Sports Injury Treatment in Fairless Hills, PA
Minor sports injuries can be easily diagnosed and treated in an urgent care center. Urgent care doctors can help provide immediate relief for these non-life-threatening conditions, minimizing your risk for more serious complications. They can also refer you to specialists for further evaluation.
Our emergency medicine physicians at Patient Care Now Urgent Care can give you the treatment you need for acute injuries. Our team is equipped with the skills and experience to provide quick and efficient care to all our patients. We are open 365 days a year to assist you in our clinic in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.
If you need immediate treatment and your primary care physician can’t fit you in, you may reach us at (267) 202-6433 or check in online to let us know you are coming. Let us help you get the urgent and efficient care you need!
