Every year millions of people participate in sports in their schools, athletic leagues, or just hanging out with their friends. As a result, urgent care centers and emergency rooms see thousands of people every day experiencing injuries ranging from minor to severe. The majority of the injuries resulting from sports are soft tissue injuries, such as contusions, sprains, and strains. Bursitis and tendinitis are also common results of sports activities. In many cases, these injuries can take an extended amount of time to heal, even when appropriate treatments are used.

Types of Soft-Tissue Injuries

There are two classifications of soft-tissue injury, acute, and overuse. Which classification an individual injury falls into is determined by how the injury was caused.

• Acute Injury:  This form of injury is the result of traumatic events such as a blow, twist, or fall. Contusions, strains, and sprains are all types of acute injuries.
• Overuse Injury: Repetitive motion gradually damages joints, tendons, and muscles over time. Overuse injuries are the result of this kind of damage, with bursitis and tendinitis being prime examples.

Treating Acute Soft-Tissue Injuries

How severe an acute injury varies with each specific instance. The first steps that should be taken in most cases of acute injury have been codified into what is known as the RICE protocol. This acronym means Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

• Rest:  Whatever activity you were doing when the injury occurred should be stopped. Crutches are common for leg injuries to avoid putting weight on them.
• Ice: Applying ice packs to the wounded area for 20 minutes at a time can help. This should be repeated a few times each day, but at no point should ice be put directly on the skin.
• Compression: An elastic compression bandage helps to prevent blood loss and reduce swelling.
• Elevation: The injured area should be held above your heart to help limit the amount of swelling that occurs.

Sprains

When a ligament gets torn or stretched, it’s known as a sprain. A ligament connects one bone to another with a band of connective tissue that is remarkably durable. Wrists, knees, and ankles are all particularly vulnerable to sprains. Falling or twisting a joint severely or rapidly can result in a sprain. There are three levels of severity in sprains:

• Grade 1: Minor damage and slight stretching results in a Grade 1, or Mild, sprain.
• Grade 2: When the ligament begins to tear, it’s known as a Grade 2, or Moderate, sprain. The joint becomes loose or moves abnormally.
• Grade 3: When the ligament tears through completely, it’s known as a Grade 3, or Severe, sprain. The joint becomes completely non-functional in cases like this.

Strains

Tendons and muscles can experience a strain. Muscles and tendons work together, with the tendons being the tissue that holds together the bones and muscles with fibrous cords. The back, leg, and feet are all common places where strains can occur. Strains come in a variety of severities, ranging from a simple stretch of the muscle to a tear that can be minor to complete, separating completely from the bone. RICE protocol works as a basic treatment approach to these injuries, with other treatments depending on the severity of the injury.

MD First Primary & Urgent Care serves the community of Lancaster, SC, with treatment services for injuries like these. If you’ve experienced a sprain or strain, give us a call at 1-803-283-2300 to see if you need to come in right away, or stop by our office at 1130 Hwy 9 Bypass W for immediate care.

Burns and skin irritations can be relatively minor concerns, or they can be severe enough to be life-threatening. This is especially true of burns, which are both some of the most painful and difficult injuries a patient can face. Most minor burns and skin irritations can be safely treated at home, though some cases may require a trip to an urgent care medical facility. Burns that cover more than 10% of your body will require transfer to a burn clinic. MD First Primary & Urgent Care can provide care for minor burns and skin irritations at its 1130 Hwy 9 Bypass W location in Lancaster, SC.

How Will I Know If I Should Go To Urgent Care For My Burn?

It can be difficult to determine how deep a burn wound goes, so it’s often best to see a physician or call a clinic for advice for any burn. Some guidelines to follow regarding your need to seek medical attention are:

• Where The Burn Is Located: If your feet, hands, ears, eyes, face, or genitals have been burned get to a medical facility immediately. These areas tend to have a higher risk of permanent damage from a wound.
• Severity of Burn: If you see any blistering, charring, or white marks to your wound, it’s essential to get to a physician. These are indicators of a more severe wound. If you aren’t experiencing any pain from the burn, you should also get to a physician immediately since this suggests nerve damage.
• Size Of The Burn: The larger the burn, the more likely you should be seeing a physician for it. Anything larger than your palm needs a visit to the doctor’s office immediately.
• Infection: If your burn begins to smell bad, swells, or has additional redness, it may have become infected, and you should go to the doctor.
• Worsening Condition: If the burn starts off seeming relatively minor but continues to get worse, it’s time to get to the doctor. Swelling, pain and a darkening of color are all signs you need medical attention.

To be clear, you don’t need to be experiencing more than one of these conditions for a trip to the doctor’s office to be necessary. Even one of these is enough to get attention immediately. If you aren’t sure, then call our office at 1-803-238-2300 to speak to our medical staff.

What About Skin Irritations?

In general, skin irritations are not an emergent or urgent situation, depending on their cause. If you’ve had a rash and it has continued to spread, get more severe, or is accompanied by pain or fever, you want to see a physician. Skin irritations caused by exposure to chemicals are also sufficient cause for you to come into urgent care or even emergency room as these can continue to cause damage even after exposure. Skin irritations can include ulcerations, scaling, and blister formation accompanied by itching, skin bumps, or discoloration of the skin.

At MD First Primary & Urgent Care, we see patients for conditions like these every day. If you have any questions about your rash, burn, or other skin irritations, call us immediately for an appointment. You can also visit our office in Lancaster, SC, for an assessment and consultation on the next steps for treating your condition.

If you’ve been experiencing the appearance of the unsightly growths known as skin tags or warts, you may be wondering what options exist to have them removed. Warts and skin tags can develop anywhere on the body, which can be problematic if they become large or form in areas that are particularly sensitive. The team at MD First Primary & Urgent Care has been helping patients in the Lancaster, SC area remove these often unsightly and embarrassing growths quickly and painlessly and are here to help you as well.

What Are Skin Tags?

Statistics suggest that skin tags occur in more than half the population at one point or another in their lives. Obese, middle-aged adults are the most likely to develop these tags, but it’s possible at any stage of life. Plump babies, in particular, may develop skin them. Skin tags are nothing more than a tiny bit of skin that projects from the surrounding skin, often appearing balloon-like. They are most common in places where friction occurs, such as skin folds or where clothing presses against the skin, such as the waistline. Below is a list of the most common sights for skin-tags:

• Chest
• Beneath breasts, particularly in women
• The base of the neck
• Buttocks
• Groin
• Underarms
• Eyelids

What Are Warts?

Warts is the name given to a form of noncancerous growth that occurs when your skin becomes infected with HPV, the Human Papillomavirus. The presence of this virus stimulates the growth of additional cells, causing thickening and hardening of the skin. While it’s possible for warts to appear anywhere on the body, they are most commonly found on the feet and hands. There are multiple types of wart that vary in both appearance and location.

• Common Warts – These are the most common warts and appear mostly on the hands and feet. They are most frequently found near the nails and are typically about the size of a pea. They often contain dark spots with a seed-like appearance. These ‘seeds’ are actually minute blood clots.
• Plantar Warts – These warts form on the sole of your feet, and often feel like there’s a pebble in your shoe you can’t shake. These warts tend to grow inwards, rather than outwards, due to the pressure caused by walking on them. They frequently are confused with calluses but are distinguished by black dots found in or around them.
• Flat Warts – These warts tend to be on the smaller side, only 1/8th of an inch wide. They are also smoother but tend to grow in greater numbers. These warts can be found in clusters of 20 to 100, and are most commonly located on the legs, in the beard, and on children’s faces.

These are three of the types of warts you might encounter, and that our office treats.

How Are Warts and Skin Tags Removed?

While the particulars of how a wart or skin tag is removed vary with each instance, the same variety of procedures are typically used for both. When it comes time to have a wart or skin tag removed, one of the following procedures will be used:

• Cryosurgery – This freezes off the wart or skin tag using small amounts of liquid nitrogen.
• Excision – A scalpel is used to excise or cut out the wart or skin tag.
• Ligation – This treatment is only used for skin tags, and involves cutting off its blood supply.
• Cauterization – Skin tags can be burned off using a special tool.

If the skin tag is located on your eyelid or near your eye, then it will be necessary to see an ophthalmologist to have it removed. Most other forms of skin tags and warts can be removed by the team at MD First Primary & Urgent Care. Make an appointment to get our help with yours by calling 1-803-283-2300 today or come see us at 1130 Hwy 9 Bypass W in Lancaster, SW.