Winter activities like skiing and skating are packed with thrills, but they can sometimes lead to falls and injuries. It’s vital to know when to seek professional care to avoid complications.
Common Winter Sports Injuries
Falls during winter sports can lead to a variety of injuries, including:
- Fractures: Broken bones are a frequent result of high-impact falls. Wrist fractures often occur when trying to break a fall, while leg fractures are common in skiing accidents.
- Sprains: Twisting or landing awkwardly can strain or tear ligaments, particularly in the ankles or knees.
- Concussions: A hard hit to the head can cause a concussion, even if a helmet is worn. Symptoms may include dizziness, nausea, and confusion.
Understanding the type of injury and its severity is crucial in deciding where to seek treatment.
Winter Injuries Related to Cold Exposure
Winter sports enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers are also at risk of injuries caused by cold exposure. These include:
- Frostbite: Prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures can damage skin and underlying tissues, often affecting extremities like fingers, toes, nose, and ears. Symptoms include numbness, discoloration, and a hard or waxy feel to the skin.
- Hypothermia: When the body loses heat faster than it can produce it, hypothermia sets in, leading to symptoms like intense shivering, confusion, slurred speech, and fatigue. Severe cases can be life-threatening.
- Chilblains: Extended exposure to cold but non-freezing conditions can cause painful inflammation of small blood vessels in the skin, resulting in redness, swelling, and itching, particularly on fingers and toes.
These conditions require prompt medical attention to prevent complications. Urgent care can often provide initial treatment for frostbite and mild hypothermia, ensuring you get the care you need quickly.
When to Visit Urgent Care for a Winter Sports Injury
While some injuries require emergency care, many can be effectively treated at an urgent care clinic like EZCare Walk-In Medical Centers. Here are some guidelines to help you decide:
- Urgent care is appropriate for:
- Suspected fractures: If you experience intense pain, swelling, or difficulty moving a limb, urgent care can provide onsite X-rays to confirm the injury.
- Mild to moderate sprains: If you notice swelling, bruising, or limited mobility but can still put some weight on the injured area, you may be able to wait and see whether you need medical care. While rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE) will be sufficient for most sprains, you should visit urgent care if swelling does not decrease and you are unable to bear any weight on it within a few days. It is especially important to have children evaluated when you suspect a sprain to rule out a fracture that could affect the growth plates in their arms or legs.
- Head injuries with mild symptoms: For bumps or mild concussions without loss of consciousness, vomiting, or worsening symptoms, urgent care can evaluate and monitor you.
- Seek emergency care if:
- A bone is visibly out of place or piercing through the skin.
- There are signs of severe head trauma, such as unconsciousness or repeated vomiting.
- The injured person is unable to move the affected body part at all or is in extreme pain, or pain that does not respond to over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
Still not sure whether you need urgent care or the ER? Check out this blog post for more info on making the right call.
How EZCare Walk-In Medical Centers Can Help
At EZCare Walk-In Medical Centers, we’re equipped to handle a range of winter sports injuries. Our onsite X-ray services allow for quick and accurate diagnosis, and our medical team can provide splints, braces, or other treatments to support recovery. We’re also experienced in evaluating and managing concussions to ensure your safety and long-term health.
Winter sports are a great way to stay active and enjoy the season, but injuries can happen. If you take a tumble, don’t wait to seek care if something doesn’t feel right. Walk in or check in online to get fast treatment today!
