Injury is a broad term for several different occurrences that can happen to your body and cause pain or discomfort. The term injury can refer to everything from cuts and bruises to broken bones and sprains. Due to the broad scope of injuries, there is also a broad scope for the treatment of the injuries. Injuries to the skin such as cuts, scrapes and burns can be treated by cleaning the wound and surrounding area, applying an ointment and a bandage to promote healing. It will need to be checked every day and have a new bandage applied to ensure it is kept clean. The area should be monitored for signs of infection such as redness, hot to the touch and blisters. Another type of injury is sprains. These are usually treated through the RICE method of at home care – rest, ice, compression, elevation. Broken bones will need to be treated by a doctor as they will need to x-ray the area and put a cast on it to ensure that it heals properly to prevent future pain and discomfort. Hard blows to the head through sport or falling and hitting your head also require medical attention to check for signs of a concussion.

Minor injuries are classified as injuries that while painful, don’t present a threat to your mobility, long-term survival or your life. There is a broad range of minor injuries that can be treated at home or may need to be checked over by a doctor to ensure there isn’t a bigger issue at hand. Some examples of minor injuries include:

• Shallow cuts or abrasions to the skin. If these fall over a joint though, medical attention is recommended. Deeper or longer cuts may require stitches from a doctor.
• Muscle strain and sprains can mostly be treated at home with rest to keep weight off the injured area and prevent it getting worse. More serious sprains and strains may require medical attention to ensure that they aren’t actually a sign of something more serious like a fracture or a muscle tear.
• Bruises and skin lesions are easily treatable with ice on the affected area.
• Minor burns affecting only a small area of the skin are treatable by running the spot under tepid water, then covering with an ointment and bandage to promote healing.

In many cases, minor injuries can be treated at home without the assistance or attention of a doctor. However, if symptoms aren’t going away after a few days or symptoms are getting worse, it is best to get checked out to avoid infection or to confirm your diagnosis through the use of x-rays.

Urgent care is perfectly set up to treat minor injuries. They are staffed by doctors and medical professionals who are trained and highly skilled in diagnosing and treating a wide variety of medical conditions. Urgent care clinics may also have x-ray machines to properly view what is going on inside the body to make an accurate diagnosis and provide the most appropriate treatment plan for each situation. They will also have the tools on hand to perform more intricate treatments such as stitching of cuts and lacerations and casting fractured bones to allow them to heal properly. For deeper cuts, the doctors and nurses in urgent care will also be able to thoroughly clean the wound to prevent infection. Doctors in urgent care are able to prescribe medications to patients to help manage pain, fight off infections and reduce inflammation. If an injury is bordering on being more serious, they will still be able to treat you or can get you stabilized enough to transfer you to a hospital for treatment.

We serve patients from West Moore OK, Norman (HealthPlex) OK, Norman (24th) OK, Edmond OK, Yukon OK, I-240 & Sooner RD OK, Tecumseh OK, and Bethany OK.