Confused about where to go if you have an orthopedic injury or emergency? You’re not alone. Here’s some expert advice from our specialists.
No one ever wants to deal with an orthopedic injury or emergency, yet at some point, most of us will. Whether your child twists their ankle at a soccer game, your elderly relative has an unfortunate fall, or your sore back turns into a five-alarm pain emergency…injuries, accidents, and pain flares happen.
The question is…where should you turn for urgent orthopedic care? The emergency room? Urgent care? An orthopedic specialist?
With more options than ever, it can be confusing to know what’s best. Add in a pandemic, and a difficult situation can suddenly feel like a precarious one.
To help figure out the best options for an orthopedic emergency, we turned to our own Jonathan Hirsch, PA-C, who has over 25 years of experience in orthopedics and sports medicine. He offers guidelines for dealing with orthopedic emergencies and explains how Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists (BCOS) provides safe, comprehensive, cost-effective care for many urgent orthopedic issues.
When should you call 911 or go immediately to the ER for an orthopedic emergency?
If it is an open fracture, meaning the bone is protruding through the skin, patients must get to the emergency room (ER) immediately. An open fracture needs to be addressed right away with wound care, IV antibiotics, and most likely surgical intervention.
Similarly, if an injury is accompanied by significant bleeding, deformity to the joint or limb (the limb looks crooked), loss of consciousness, or an inability to move, patients should go straight to their local emergency room to be treated and stabilized.
What if someone is unsure whether they should go to the ER or urgent care for an orthopedic issue?
If it’s unclear emergency intervention is required, you can always first call our office at 215-348-7000. We have an orthopedic specialist on call every day, even after hours, to provide triage advice and help determine if you should head straight to an ER/urgent care, or if seeing an urgent care orthopedic specialist in our office is a good option.
I think it’s important to note that the primary focus of an emergency room is to immediately stabilize an acute situation and get a patient out of danger. Once that is accomplished, the ER will hand off patients to our office, where they are seen by the appropriate specialist for a more detailed diagnosis and long-term orthopedic treatment plan.
So, if emergency room care is not necessary, it is very reasonable to call our office to get guidance and a head start on the treatment plan. This also allows patients to bypass the hassles, exposures, and extra costs of the emergency room.
What are some of the most common orthopedic emergencies that you see in the office?
As a sports medicine specialist, I often see athletes seeking orthopedic urgent care for an injury that happened in a game or practice. These include sprains, strains, fractures, and torn ligaments.
Also, an acute flare-up of chronic pain is one of the most common urgent orthopedic situations that I see. For example, a person with hip or knee arthritis can sometimes see their chronic pain can suddenly flare up, going from a “3” on the pain scale to an “8” out of 10. That severe pain can be debilitating and is considered an emergent situation that we can assess and address.
What diagnostic and treatment options are available for orthopedic emergencies at the offices of Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists?
Patients in our office will see a specialist in orthopedic injuries and emergencies. In addition to a complete exam, we can take any necessary x-rays and review them with the patient during their office visit.
For soft tissue injuries, such as a sprain or a possible ligament tear, we can help patients quickly get an MRI. In fact, one benefit to our office versus the ER is our ability to arrange for the insurance pre-certification and get those imaging studies done as quickly as possible. We also provide durable, stabilizing medical equipment such as splints, slings, boots, crutches, and casting (when indicated for fractures).
For pain relief, we can develop a plan for prescribing medications and/or administering injections to reduce swelling and pain.
But our treatment doesn’t stop at diagnosis and stabilization. That is an important distinction. We are committed to caring for patients over the long-term and create a detailed treatment plan for achieving the best outcome. This would typically involve follow up appointments as we guide the patient toward recovery, healing, and a return to their goals, be it returning to athletics, work, or enjoying a pain-free lifestyle.
What should someone do if they have an orthopedic emergency at night or on the weekend?
Assuming it is not one of the scenarios we’ve already discussed with an open fracture, lack of circulation, loss of consciousness, or immobility, they can call our office any day, any time. We have an entire staff of urgent care orthopedic specialists, and someone is always available to help patients determine what to do if there is an accident, injury, or sudden pain flare at night or on the weekends. If someone is debating when and where to seek treatment, they can call us for triage and guidance.
What about patients who need urgent attention for a chronic pain flare-up?
After hours or on the weekend they can call us and talk to one of our on-call urgent care orthopedic specialists. We’ll assess the situation, provide guidance on immediate next steps including the possibility of going to the ER, and offer medical advice. For current patients, we can also call-in a medication prescription, if appropriate.
During office hours, we will try to schedule an appointment for someone having an acute pain flare-up as soon as possible. All of our office locations are well-equipped to handle this. In fact, many of our patients have a long-term care plan with us and we have been guiding them along for years.
Jonathan Hirsch, PA-C is an Orthopedic Physician Assistant who specializes in sports medicine and urgent orthopedic care.
For more information about orthopedic emergencies, acute and chronic pain flare-ups, or our orthopedic specialists, call our office at 215-348-7000.
About Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists
Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists (BCOS) is the largest orthopedic practice in the community, serving the Bucks and Montgomery County region for over 40 years. The multi-specialty practice has fellowship-trained physicians from leading university hospitals, achieving exceptional results using state-of-the-art, minimally invasive treatments. Along with an exceptional group of nationally-certified physicians assistants, the entire team at BCOS is committed to providing seamless, personalized care from start to finish. BCOS surgeons perform thousands of surgeries each year and have offices in Doylestown and Warrington, with an office in Newtown opening soon. To learn more visit: www.bucksortho.com.
