Injuries
While some injuries require emergency care in a hospital, minor injuries can typically be treated at an urgent care center. Examples of injuries that may not constitute an immediate medical emergency include burns, wounds, fractures or sprains and strains.
Care for minor injuries and accidents at our clinics
No matter how you got an injury, we can provide guidance for your recovery.
Our teams of specialists at CareNow® urgent care clinics are available to see you for everything from cooking burns to skateboarding accidents. They provide expert knowledge and support in diagnosing and assisting in your treatment.
Related specialties
Learn more about our related specialties.
Care for minor injuries and accidents
No matter how many precautions you take, we know accidents happen. If you experience a minor fall, burn or cut, we can help.
Different types of minor injuries we treat
Our specialists are equipped to diagnose a range of injuries you may come to us with. These include:
- Burns
- Cuts
- Joint pain
- Poisoning
- Strained muscles
If you think you or a loved one may have been poisoned, call 911 or the American Association of Poison Control Centers at 1-800-222-1222.
Joint pain
The most common joints that can become painful include the elbow, knee and shoulder. Joint pain becomes more common as you age and sometimes can indicate a serious issue.
Joint pain treatments
If the joint pain is mild and you know the source, you can treat it at home. If you don’t know where the pain is coming from, or if it doesn’t go away after three days, seek a healthcare provider.
A provider will be able to determine the cause and treat it.
You may be able to avoid joint pain by staying physically active, stretching and keeping your body weight within a healthy range.
Strained muscles
A muscle strain can happen when a muscle gets stretched too much or too quickly, or works too hard. This sometimes makes the muscle tear. Another term for a muscle strain is a "pulled muscle."
A muscle strain can happen during an accident or exercise. Muscles that are commonly strained include those in the back, neck and back of the leg.
Diagnosing muscle strain
Some people need tests to diagnose a muscle strain. Your provider or nurse should be able to tell if you need these tests by learning about your symptoms and doing an exam.
Depending on your symptoms, your provider or nurse might order X-ray exams for them to better see inside of your body.
Treating muscle strain
A muscle strain usually gets better on its own, but it can take days to weeks to heal completely.
To help your symptoms get better, you can:
- Rest your muscle and avoid movements or activities that cause pain.
- Ice the area. You can put a cold gel pack, bag of ice or bag of frozen vegetables on the painful muscle every one to two hours, for 15 minutes each time. Put a thin towel between the ice (or other cold object) and your skin. Use the ice (or other cold object) for at least six hours after the injury. You may find it helpful to ice up to two days after an injury.
- Wrap your muscle with an elastic bandage, other type of wrap or fabric "sleeve" — this helps support your muscle.
- Raise the muscle above the level of your heart (if possible) — for example, you can prop your leg up on pillows. This is helpful only for the first few days after an injury.
- Take medicine to reduce the pain and swelling — if you have a lot of pain or a severe muscle strain, your provider will prescribe a strong pain medicine.
If your strain is not severe, you can take an over-the-counter medicine such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen.