Knowing Where to Go Can Help You Get the Right Care Faster

By Joseph Treanor, PA-C 

You twist your ankle stepping off a curb. Your child hurts a wrist during soccer practice. You fall and wonder whether you may have broken a bone. You need care, but where should you go? For a fever, cough, sore throat, or other general medical concerns, a traditional urgent care center is often a good choice. But when the problem involves a sudden bone, joint, or muscle injury, orthopedic urgent care may be a better place to start. 

Excelsior Orthopaedics Express is open 7 days a week and specializes in acute orthopedic injuries. Its providers routinely evaluate fractures, suspected fractures, sprains and strains, and injuries to the shoulder, hand, wrist, knee, foot, and ankle. Express also treats many acute sports-related injuries. 

The advantage of choosing an orthopedic urgent care is specialization. Because the team focuses on musculoskeletal injuries, providers evaluate and treat them. On-site X-rays, bracing, splinting, and casting are available when appropriate. Another important consideration is what happens after that first visit. Some injuries require more than an X-ray and a brace. Because Express is part of Excelsior Orthopaedics, patients needing additional care can be connected with the practice’s orthopedic specialists, physical and occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and other services. That continuity can be especially helpful for athletes. A sports injury may require not only an initial diagnosis, but also treatment, rehabilitation, and guidance on when it is safe to return to activity. Having those services within one orthopedic practice can make the process easier to navigate. 

So, how do you decide? Consider the nature of the problem. Sick? Think traditional urgent care. Injured a bone, joint, or muscle? Think orthopedic urgent care. Other injuries require a hospital emergency department. Severe trauma, uncontrolled bleeding, an obvious major deformity, or an injury accompanied by other serious symptoms should be evaluated as an emergency. 

When you have an orthopedic injury, seeing the right provider from the start can help you get on the path to recovery. 

Joseph Treanor, PA-C, is the Express Team Clinical Manager at Excelsior Orthopaedics. Learn more about Excelsior Express, open 7 days a week, at www.ExcelsiorOrtho.com/Express-Care. Schedule online today!