Common Sports Injuries Treatment for Athletes at Walk-In Clinic AFC Urgent Care South Philly, PA

AFC Urgent Care & Walk-In Clinic in South Philly, PA treats sports injuries for both children and adults

One of the most popular ways to stay in shape regardless of the season is working out or playing sports. However, engaging in either of these activities puts you at risk for common sports injuries. At AFC Urgent Care in South Philly, we can help treat you for these injuries when you push yourself beyond your physical limitations. These injuries need proper treatment. Otherwise, you risk making them worse and prolonging your complete recovery. Our board-certified physicians can diagnose and treat you for your common sports injuries. Our walk-in urgent care center in South Philly can treat adults and children regardless if they are playing a sport for fun or engaged in a school-based activity.

What are some common sports injuries you treat at AFC Urgent Care South Philly?

There are many common sports injuries you can suffer, and we have treated many of them at our medical facility. Most injuries involve the musculoskeletal system's bones, ligaments, cartilage, muscles, and other tissues. These injuries can occur while playing a sport or during typical exercise.

Tennis Elbow / Golfer’s Elbow – You do not need to be a nationally ranked tennis player to suffer from this condition. A Tennis Elbow occurs when you overuse muscles around the elbow, resulting in inflammation and pain. Tennis elbow is also more likely to occur in your dominant arm. “Golfer’s Elbow" is related to this condition but affects a different set of muscles in your elbow area.

Achilles tendon injuries – Injuries to your Achilles tendon are also known as ACL injuries. Your ACL is a tendon that runs along your calf muscle to your heel. As with other tendons, it can be overstretched, inflamed, or tear. ACL injuries tend to happen suddenly and are incredibly painful. A tear can be successfully treated if it is immediately identified and adequately braced. If a full ACL rupture occurs, many patients experience a complete loss of function to that area of their body. Often, only surgery can repair a ruptured ACL. For this reason, tears must be carefully treated until they fully heal.

Strain – An injury to one of your tendons or muscles is known as a strain. These injuries result from over-contracting, overstretching, or a tear in these tissues. They can occur when you twist an area of your body or pull harder than a muscle or tendon can withstand. We can treat minor to moderate strains at our urgent care center. Unfortunately, we cannot treat a complete muscle or tendon tear, as that must usually be repaired via surgery. A severe strain often results in a total loss of function in the injured area. Muscle or tendon strain symptoms include spasms, loss of strength, and pain. Many patients who visit our clinic with strains suffer in the groin or hamstring.

Sprain – When your ligaments suffer an injury, it is known as a sprain. Ligaments are tissue that holds together joints and your other bones. They can be torn or overstretched, just like any other tissue in your body. When you have a sprain, you will experience bruising, inflammation, swelling, tenderness, and pain. Your joints may also be challenging to move and feel “loose." We see patients at our clinic with sprains in their wrists, knees, or ankles. Our clinic can treat minor to moderate sprains, but a specialist must treat severe sprains that result in a complete tear of a ligament.

Dislocations – This injury is not uncommon in high impact sports and occurs when the bones that make a joint become separated. This injury needs immediate medical treatment and does not heal on its own. Popping bones back into place is not as simple as the movies make it. A medical professional must do it so that your injury heals correctly. Sprains and strains often occur with this injury as well.

Runner’s Knee – Also known as “Jumper’s Knee," the medical term for this condition is a patellofemoral syndrome. It is caused by overuse or trauma to the knee joint. Heavy falls or blows to the knee can cause this injury. You do not need to run 10 miles daily or be a professional sports player to suffer this injury. Anyone using their knee joint can get patellofemoral syndrome in that area. Symptoms of this condition include pain in the knee when jumping, squatting, climbing, bending, or exercising. A person with this condition can also suffer pain while sitting for extended periods, like when traveling long distances. Sometimes, you may experience a “crack" or “pop" in the knee.

Concussion – A blow to the head can sometimes injure the brain, giving you a concussion. This temporary loss of brain function often does not result in someone losing conscious despite what you may see in the movies. There are often no external signs of trauma to the head either. Concussions must be treated very carefully. Otherwise, you risk a second, more severe concussion and a prolonged recovery time where you are prohibited from many activities.

Shin splints – When your shins are aching or throbbing after running or sprinting, you suffer from shin splints or tibial stress syndrome. This condition occurs when the muscles along your shin bones become irritated and inflamed. Tibial stress syndrome can be caused by flat feet, weak core muscles, shoes that don’t support your feet, or weak ankles. Warming up the muscles in your shins before workouts and cooling them down afterward can help ease these symptoms.

Fractures – When you break a bone in your body, you suffer a fracture. The easiest ones to treat are clean or simple fractures when the broken bone does little, if any, damage to nearby tissue. An open or compound fracture must be taken to the emergency room as the bone has punctured the skin. We can diagnose and treat simple fractures at our clinic. These must be identified and treated early so the bone can heal properly and regain its strength.

How can I prevent sports injuries?

Unfortunately, many injuries occur when you push yourself beyond your physical limits. Many injuries can be prevented by being aware of what your body can and cannot do successfully. Warm up before you engage in an activity to reduce the chances of strains and sprains. Increasing the blood flow to ligaments and muscles will help prepare them for strenuous work. Finally, no matter how strong or in shape you are, rest from time to time. Muscle fatigue dramatically increases your chances for a sports injury.

Do I need an appointment to be treated for a sports injury?

No appointment is ever required at AFC Urgent Care South Philly to be seen by a board-certified doctor to be treated for your sports injury. We are open seven days a week and have an x-ray on-site to examine any injury in detail. When you need immediate treatment for your sports injury, come to our clinic today!

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