Urgent Care for Sports Injuries

People in the DC and Montgomery County region are active—we like to play, enjoy the outdoors, and get healthy through physical fitness! With so many parks and recreation spaces in the area, we have plenty of opportunity to get moving. When a sports or exercise injury interrupts your game or fitness plan, come to Fast Track Urgent Care. We offer comprehensive urgent care treatment for sports injuries.

When you need urgent care for a sports injury, visit a Fast Track walk-in clinic location near you—no appointment necessary! Call 800-417-1164 for more information on our sports injury treatment services.

Types of Sports Injuries

The kind of treatment you receive for your injury will depend on the type of sports injury you’ve sustained.

• Acute – Acute sports injuries include broken bones, sprains, and dislocations, along with any cuts or gashes that require stitches.
• Chronic – Chronic sports injuries are those that usually develop over time as the result of athletic activity—tennis or golf elbow, plantar fasciitis, and back or joint pain.

Fast Track Urgent Care treats both acute and chronic sports injuries.

Common Sports Injuries and Treatments

• Achilles tendonitis – Your Achilles tendon is a flexible band of tissue that stretches from your heel bones to your calf muscles. Tendonitis—a tear or rupture of the Achilles tendon—is often caused by overuse or strain but can also happen suddenly during physical activity. Most cases are easily treated with rest, ice, using compresses and elevation, taking anti-inflammatory medication, and physical therapy.
• Ankle sprain – If you experience ankle pain along with swelling and have difficulty moving your ankle, you likely have a sprain. Ankle sprains are injuries to the ligaments in your ankle, and they occur in three levels of severity:
  • Grade I – The ligament is stretched
  • Grade II – The ligament is partially torn
  • Grade III – The ligament is completely torn

Most ankle sprains are treated with rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE), along with physical therapy, but severe cases sometimes require surgery.

• Concussion – Concussion symptoms can vary from person to person, and sometimes take hours or even days to present. Symptoms typically include confusion, no memory of what happened before the accident, headache, nausea, and more. If you or someone in your care has suffered a head injury, either through a fall, a collision, or other means, get them to Urgent Care right away.
• Elbow injuries from tennis or golf (tennis or golf elbow) – Tennis elbow is elbow pain on the muscles and tendons on the outside of the elbow, often caused by overuse. Golf elbow is the same type of pain on the elbow’s inside muscles and tendons. Symptoms include gradually increasing pain in the elbow that becomes worse when squeezing objects, using tools, or handling utensils or other items. Treatment is usually the RICE method, along with physical therapy.
• Groin injury or strain – Injuries or strains to the groin (the folds on either side of your pubic where your legs meet your stomach) can happen abruptly, with a tear, or over time from overuse. Treatment is typically the RICE method, along with physical therapy.
• Knee injuries or runner’s knee – Knee injuries are common among athletes. Depending on the severity of the injury, and whether it occurred abruptly or developed from overuse, treatment varies.
• Pulled muscle – Damage to muscles and/or their attached tendons are some of the most diagnosed sports injuries. When you pull a muscle, you will likely feel pain whether the muscle is being used or is at rest, experience swelling and weakness, and may not be able to even use the affected muscle at all. Treatment varies.
• Shin splints – Runners and individuals who are ramping up their exercise or athletic activity often suffer from shin splints—in fact, most athletes and fitness enthusiasts experience them at one point or another. Symptoms include aching, throbbing shins, sometimes painful enough to keep you from enjoying normal activities. Shin splints can be caused by overuse, a strained muscle, stress fractures, or as the result of flat feet or poor pronation when running. Rest, ice, stretching exercises, and sometimes anti-inflammatory medications are part of the typical treatment regimen.
• Shoulder injuries – Your shoulder joint does a lot of the work for you in sports and exercise; because of this, it is quite prone to injury. And there are a lot of moving parts to hurt:
  • Scapula (shoulder blade)
  • Clavicle (collarbone)
  • Humerus (upper arm bone)
  • Acromioclavicular (AC joint; between the clavicle and scapula)

As with most sports injuries, shoulder injuries can range from minor to severe and treatments will vary.

At Fast Track Urgent Care, both of our walk-in clinic locations treat sports injuries both acute and chronic. Remember, you never need an appointment at Fast Track!

Please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if:

• You have a life-threatening emergency
• You have a history of heart disease or have had a prior heart attack and are experiencing chest pains

Montgomery County Sports Physicals

When you or your child needs a sports physical, get it done at Fast Track! Learn about our no-appointment sports physicals.

To get more information about sports injury treatment at Fast Track Urgent Care, call 800-417-1164 or contact us online.

Why Get Sports Injury Treatment at Fast Track Urgent Care?

• You can come in on your own schedule. Fast Track Urgent Care’s Silver Spring walk-in clinics make it easy for you to get the medical care you need on your schedule—when it’s convenient for you. Both of our clinic locations are open until 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and are open on Saturday and Sunday.
• You don’t need to call ahead.There is no need to make an appointment at our walk-in clinics.
• You can trust our staff. Our board certified doctors and clinicians provide the same level of care you would get at your own doctor’s office.
• You won’t have to wait long. Typically, the wait at Fast Track Urgent Care is far shorter than the wait at the emergency room.
• You can get your prescription filled while you’re here.Both of our walk-in clinics have on-site pharmacies, saving you a trip to the drugstore.

If you have any questions about the services that Fast Track’s walk-in clinics offer, please give us a call at 800-417-1164.