Perhaps the terms urgent care clinic and emergency room carry with them the concept of a place one goes when they’ve severed an appendage or otherwise suffered a sudden, life-threatening injury. While this is not wholly untrue, these kinds of stand-alone clinics (also known as a walk-in health clinic) treat many other health issues that require the need of immediate care, rather than the gradual wait for a doctor’s appointment. With 85% of urgent care clinics open seven days a week and 20,000 physicians that currently practice urgent care medicine, it’s not hard to see why someone might choose these clinics as the best place for treatment. Some of the most common afflictions brought to an urgent care facility might surprise you:
1) Lower Back Pain
As much as 69% of Americans claim that lower back pain interferes with their day-to-day lives. While not life threatening, the discomfort of back pain can reach an insufferable point for many people. It seems that many try other methods; four out of 10 people will try exercise to get rid of their lower back pain and 40% of people with this condition will never see a doctor or physical therapist. Fortunately, a walk in medical clinic is prepared to help relieve sufferers of their back pain quickly, sometimes even providing physical therapy options.
2) Dizziness
Dizziness and loss of balance is a condition experienced more by older patients than younger, at is it estimated that 65% of individuals 60 years and older will experience this on a daily basis. Nevertheless, dizziness is still the second most common complaint heard in clinics and is experienced by as much as 70% of the population. This is an important condition to treat as quickly as possible for many reasons, the ability to drive or operate heavy machinery being but one of them. It’s estimated that by 2030 six out of 10 Baby Boomers will find themselves managing some kind of chronic condition, so getting these troubling symptoms tended to early on is a good idea.
3) Sports-Related Injury
Injuries sustained while playing some kind of sport or doing an athletic activity are especially prevalent, as 12,000,000 people between the ages of 5 and 22 suffer at least one sports-related injury a year. This contributes to 20,000,000 school days lost in total. Sports injuries also account for an estimated $33,000,000,000 in annual health costs. With the presence of immediate care and physical therapy equipment, it seems only sensible to visit an urgent care walk in clinic when needing immediate pain relief from these kinds of injuries.
As you can see, one needn’t be bleeding death or suffering a severed limb to go seek affordable urgent care. Anytime immediate relief would be preferred over waiting for a doctor’s appointment, walk-in clinics can be a good solution.
