While many people enthusiastically attend sporting events — both professional-level and local games — the cost of participating in sports is surprisingly high. Not only do many parents have to pay for their children’s sporting equipment, but the medical bill for injuries acquired while playing sports is over $30 billion every year.
Surprisingly, over 10 million young people become injured while playing sports each year. In addition to extended recovery times that can involved doctors’ visits, medication, surgery, and even physical therapy, experts report that children with sports injuries miss over 20 million days of school during their treatment and recovery.
The need to get physical therapy for knee pain, lower back pain, or even more severe injuries leads many parents through the doors of walk in urgent care centers. Located across the country in many cities, most urgent care facilities are able to treat fractures, sprains, concussions, and other sports-related injuries.
Most urgent care centers can fill prescriptions, prescribe medication, and help parents explore physical therapy or surgery options for injuries acquired on the playing field. Top doctors at a medical walk in clinic may open the clinic for longer hours than private practice doctors do: many parents report satisfaction with being able to access care during late afternoon and evening hours when most sports games are played.
About 3 million patients go to urgent care every week, citing lower costs and quicker visit times. Younger sports participants may be overwhelmed by busy emergency rooms, but often walk in care can provide a calmer atmosphere. About half of all urgent care facilities are owned and operated by doctors who are committed to providing top-notch service to working families in their local area.
Sports season can be full of triumph and accomplishment, but when players sustain injuries that need to be seen and treated by a doctor, many families feel comfortable with urgent care for kids. Finding urgent care locations can be accomplished by a quick search through the phone book, or by looking online for local facilities.
