Accidents are almost inevitable when you play sports. So, if you incur an injury, which doctor or facility should you visit first? Most people assume the best place to visit is the emergency room (ER), however, in most cases, this is not necessary. Others believe that unless it’s a life-threatening emergency, you should get an appointment with your primary care physician (which can take a few days) to get treatment. However, a lot of injuries require immediate care.
Most athletes incur minor to moderate musculoskeletal injuries that don’t necessarily require an ER visit but can’t wait for days before seeing a doctor. In such situations, the best place for you to visit is an urgent care center.
What Is Urgent Care?
Urgent care clinics are designed to provide patients with fast healthcare services and testing that cannot wait for a routine primary care physician appointment. Urgent care centers also provide diagnostic services, such as EKG, lab testing, and X-rays. This lets you get accurate diagnoses quickly instead of having to go to another place for testing and lab work. Urgent care centers also provide treatment for a plethora of non-life-threatening conditions, illnesses and injuries, which include:
- Abdominal pain
- Ankle sprains
- Bone dislocations
- Cuts
- Dehydration
- Fractures
- Lacerations
- Muscle strains
- Scrapes and scratches
- Sprains and strains
- Vomiting
- Wound care
A lot of these injuries and illnesses happen when you play sports. Urgent care centers can quickly and effectively treat these issues and send you home. Emergency rooms are designed to deal with life-threatening emergencies. While they can certainly help you with non-life-threatening situations, it is ineffective and a waste of their resources as well as your time and money. ER visits are very expensive and even then, you may be required to wait several hours for treatment. Urgent care centers require significantly lower costs and offer much quicker service.
Primary care physicians can deal with a lot of non-life-threatening illnesses and conditions, but most of them are not available immediately and require appointments. They also work limited hours in a week. Most sports events and practices take place in the evenings or weekends when most primary care physician offices are closed. Alternatively, urgent care centers have extended hours, so when an injury or illness strikes, you can get treatment right away.
Urgent Care Center in Rochester, New York
When it comes to sports injuries, choose a healthcare provider that offers quick and expert medical care whenever you need it. At Cornerstone Urgent Care Center, we deliver the best urgent care services to the patients we serve. Our team of expert and experienced medical providers are dedicated to giving you the most compassionate and efficient care possible.
We aim to have patients checked, treated, and released from our walk-in clinic within an hour. We are open Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm and Saturday to Sunday, 9 am to 7 pm. Call us at (585) 207-0088 for more information or send us a message.
