Should You Go to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room for Sprains and Strain?

Sprains, strains, and bone fractures can occur due to incorrect form or technique, an accident, or defective equipment that causes you to overstrain your body. If you have sprains and strains, the big question is whether you should head to a walk-in urgent care center or rush to an emergency room. When you have a sudden injury, seeking medical attention is paramount. Whether you need to visit urgent care or ER depends on the severity of the symptoms or the injury. For moderate injuries, a walk-in clinic in Marbach, San Antonio, can help, but an ER may be the option for more severe injuries like a badly sprained ankle.

Walk-in Clinic vs. Emergency Room for Common Injuries

A sprain involves a tear of or pulled ligaments, the tissues that connect bone to bone. A strain involves a pull or tear of the tendon or muscle, while a fracture entails a broken bone. It could be mild such as a hairline fracture, or severe such as shattered bone.

So if your symptom or pain is mild, going to a walk-in clinic is okay to get immediate treatment. However, if there is a total tear of ligaments, tendons, or muscles, this is considered a severe sprain or strain. Therefore, it requires an ER for treatment. The same happens for a severe fracture. 

What is a Walk-in Urgent Care?

A walk-in urgent care clinic is a healthcare facility providing relatively quick treatments involving acute illnesses and mild or minor injuries. These clinics are best for dealing with health conditions and injuries that need prompt medical treatment but aren't life-threatening. Strains, sprains, and fractures can be treated at a walk-in urgent care facility. 

The walk-in care facilities have medical and diagnostic tools and equipment. If you sustain a musculoskeletal injury, the healthcare providers can perform X-rays or other imaging tests to help ascertain the nature of the injury. After determining the damage, you may be given a bandage or splint to wear. You are offered instructions on how to take care of the injury to speed up the recovery process.

When Should Head to the ER for Sprains and Strains

You need to arrange a trip to an emergency room when the symptoms, condition, or injury are severe or seemingly life-threatening. For instance, a walk-in clinic in Marbach, San Antonio, can handle simple fractures. On the other hand, you have to reach an ER if it is a case of complex fractures like broken bones that show visible deformity or a bone pushing through the skin. It will require a major procedure to help repair the bone internally instead of just receiving a cast.

Consider urgent care near you when your injuries don't present any life-threatening complications or are not very severe and necessitate an ER trip. Visit Alamo City Urgent Care for your urgent care needs like sprains, strains, or fractures in Marbach, San Antonio. This facility's healthcare workers and clinicians can adequately take care of these issues and provide respite.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Common Types of Rashes

Image
  What are Rashes?  It is a temporary outbreak of the skin, leaving red, swollen bumps on your skin. A rash can be itchy, scaly, or flaky, with others forming pockets of pus or blisters. Your skin will change in color and texture when you have rashes. Types of Rashes Before you seek Rashes treatment in San Antonio, TX , understand that they come in many types. The common ones include: Eczema – is a term that refers to many skin conditions that cause the skin to be itchy, red, scaly, and even inflamed. Granuloma annulare – features circular-shaped rashes that are red. Pityriasis rosea – may be caused by a virus. It is characterized by a large, scaly, pink patch of skin. The patch may continue to multiply in different places of your body, more so the chest or your back. Ringworms – they feature rashes with raised border, usually itchy and circular. Contact dermatitis – a type of rash caused by skin irritants and allerg...
Read more

Concussions: Symptoms, Types, Treatment, and Prevention

A concussion is caused by direct trauma to the head. The trauma can jolt the brain and, in the process cause bruises, and damage to blood vessels and nerves. This results in malfunctions in the brain. High-risk concussion causes include: Falls in children or some older adults Being hit in the head Engaging in contact sports like football Automobile accidents Activity in the military service Concussion Symptoms Though concussions are relatively common, they can be hard to diagnose. The symptoms can manifest physically, mentally, and even emotionally. Some of the symptoms include: Slurred speech Nausea A feeling of confusion Headaches Sensitivity to noise or light Loss of memory Depression Loss of consciousness Problems with sleep Difficulty concentrating Ringing in ears Slowed in responding to questions Types of Concussions Professionals stratify concussions based on the loss of equilibrium, amnesia, and loss of consciousness. They are divided...
Read more

Urgent Care Treatment for Red Eyes

The redness of your eye occurs when your eye vessels are irritated or swollen. It is also called bloodshot eyes and can indicate a severe eye problem. Although some may be acute, some may be serious and may need you to visit an urgent care center . Causes of Red eyes A red eye is mainly caused by an inflammation of some vessels present on the eye's surface. The following may trigger the inflammation of these vessels and include: Irritants such as dry air, dust, allergic reactions, dust, colds. Some eye infections are caused by inflammation of the eyelashes follicles, corneal ulcers, uvea inflammation, or inflammation of a membrane that coats the eye. Injury or trauma to the eye rheumatoid arthritis Bleeding problems Eyelid styes Use of marijuana Treatment of Red Eyes If your symptoms include blurry vision, difficulty seeing, intense pain, itching, and green or yellow discharge from your eye, visit our urgent care treatment for eye infection. You will receive immediate care for ...
Read more