Now that summer is in full swing, adults and kids alike are hitting the beach, trails and parks for fun-in-the-sun sports activities. But did you know that an estimated 12 million children, teens and young adults suffer a sports-related injury per year? For you parents out there, that’s 20 million lost days of school! Those sports-related injuries can add up, accounting for $33 billion in health care costs annually.
So what can you do to treat a sports-related injury should your jump shot go poorly? Emergency room care is often expensive and when your ankle is smarting, you don’t want to wait for a doctor’s appointment. Thankfully there are many affordable and convenient urgent care locations around the country that provide the best doctors, walk-in services and after-hours urgent care.
Urgent care centers treat some of the most commons sports injuries including muscle strain and sprain, jock itch, athlete’s foot, aches and pains and swimmer’s ear. Four out of five urgent care locations also provide fracture care.
Read on for tips on preventing and treating the most common sports injuries:
- Take breaks. Remember to rest a couple days per week and take breaks during actual physical activity.
- Use proper technique. Pay attention to form.
- Know your body. Take care of common weak spots like knees and ankles. More than 80% of ankle sprains result from ankle rolling that often occurs in sports.
- According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, you should never try to work through an injury. If you feel pain, immediately stop playing. If pain persists after rest, ice, compression and elevation (the RICE method), find urgent care.
- Know where the closest urgent care location is to your home or where you exercise. Most urgent care locations are open 7 days a week and more than two-thirds are open before 9:00 a.m.
- Don’t forget post care! After you’ve initially treated the injury, many urgent care locations offer physical therapy options for your recovery needs. Check to see if the urgent care location nearest you does.
