Whenever our children get hurt, we feel it too. We never want to see our children in pain, yet we know that sports are really important for them and that sports injuries are almost unavoidable. Thankfully, there’s probably an urgent care clinic very close to you right now where you can find the best doctors to help your child if they do have an injury. Yet it’s also very important for you to know what to do when and if an injury happens.

• Keep injuries from happening in the first place. While it’s true that it’s impossible to always avoid all injuries altogether, there are some ways to minimize sports injuries. A lot of children are hurt in sports because they train too much, because they failed to wear the right footwear, because they don’t wear the right safety equipment, or because they are not playing properly or have not been trained correctly. If you want to avoid a trip to an urgent care clinic, the best first step is to make sure that your child has a competent coach and is putting time into their training: yet not training so hard they’re hurting themselves. Go ahead and invest in the correct footwear and safety equipment, because the cost of emergency care will far outweigh the extra few dollars you spend on getting better shoes.
• Understand the two primary types of sports injuries. As a parent you are likely to see one of two kinds of injuries in your children as they play sports. The first type comes from overuse and includes things like stress fractures or tennis elbow. It’s tempting to view these sorts of injuries as less serious than an acute and traumatic injury, but the reality is that they can be just as devastating and damaging to your child’s body. If you don’t go to the medical clinic for treatment for these types of injuries, they almost always get worse.

  The other type of injury you are likely to see is from a trauma. These usually happen after some sort of blow or fall and include sprains, concussions, fractures, and wounds. Most of us know to take our children immediately to an urgent care clinic for any of these conditions, but it’s important to emphasize again that they should never be neglected. What looks like a sprain could actually be a fracture, and while some concussions will heal just fine with rest at home, taking chances with your child’s long-term health is never a smart idea.

• Teach your child to deal with injury appropriately. Of course, you want your child not to whine and cry about every little thing. One of the most valuable things about sports is the way they can teach us a certain toughness that will come in handy later as we face the realities of life in a difficult world. But there can be a fine line between toughness and stupidity. Sometimes it’s appropriate to push through a setback, but teaching children when to pull themselves out of the game or stop doing an activity could just be one of the best things you ever do for their long-term health and welfare.
• Know when to get medical help. You should get medical help at an urgent care clinic if you notice any of these symptoms:
  • Sudden serious pain
  • A limp
  • Limited range of motion
  • Minor pain that doesn’t go away or is getting worse
  • Swelling to an injured area
  • Pain that fades with rest but returns whenever your child is active

• Know what to do in a serious emergency. If someone has hurt their neck or spine, never attempt to move them. Call 911 and get them emergency room care right away. Concussions or hematomas can result when a child’s head is hit, so always take your child to the urgent care clinic after a blow to the head, even if it they seem fine.

We want the best for our children, so make sure you know how best to help them prevent and get treatment for sports injuries.