A broken bone requires a trip to urgent care.
Sports, osteoporosis, motor vehicle crashes, falls, and direct blows can result in broken bones. Fractures are a common injury for adults and children, and the pain may be dependent upon the injured and the bone. Even so, it can be difficult to tell if you have a broken bone or simply a sprain. If you think you do have a broken bone, promptly seek medical treatment.
Besides the obvious factor of pain, here are ways to tell if a bone is broken.
Bruising
The discoloration of an injury indicates that blood has escaped from the capillaries in the area, which means that the underneath tissue has been damaged. Bruising can occur with almost any kind of tissue damage, including blood leaking from a broken bone.
Swelling
Injuries cause fluids and sometimes blood to leak into soft tissues, like muscle, fat, and skin. The extra fluid causes the soft tissues to swell, and may cause the area of trauma to swell and become hard.
Deformity
Probably one of the best indicators of broken bones, visible deformity indicates that something is not right. When a limb bends in places that it should not, it’s a good bet that the bone is out of place. Similarly, if the bone has ripped through the skin, it may be broken or dislocated.
Crepitus
If you feel a crunching feeling under your feet when you walk, there’s a good chance that a part of your foot is broken. The crunching occurs when broken bits of bone rub together.
These are the warning signs of a possible fracture that all deserve a trip to the doctor! Having one of these injuries is worrisome. Having them all indicates that there is a bad injury.
Don’t wait until the injury gets worse before getting medical attention. Instead of waiting at the emergency room for hours on end, visit your local urgent care. At Sand Canyon Urgent Care, we treat patients for a variety of medical needs, and broken bones is one of them! Contact us today to expedite your treatment.
