25 Reasons to Visit an Emergency Room for Orthopedic Trauma
Orthopedic trauma patients are those patients that have severe damage to the musculoskeletal system. This is basically the system of the body made up of bones of the skeleton, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, joints, muscles and other connective tissue that provides form, stability, support and movement to the body. To prevent more serious damage, patients with orthopedic trauma should head over to the emergency room as soon as they experience the orthopedic trauma. To help with that, this article will look to shine a spotlight on some of the instances where one should head over to an emergency room as far as orthopedic injuries are concerned.
You should visit and emergency room for orthopedic trauma as soon as possible to be assessed if a bone has broken through the skin or there are signs of a bone break.
If your arm or leg appears extremely crooked or there is obvious deformity, then you should also ensure you visit an emergency room as soon as you possibly can.
Another reason to visit an emergency room for orthopedic trauma is if there is significant blood loss due to the trauma. Extreme loss of blood is life threatening.
One should also visit an emergency room if there is an open wound close to a suspected fracture to have it checked out as soon as they can.
If you are also experiencing severe pain due to the trauma that doesn’t respond to over-the-counter medication or when you ice it, you should also ensure you head over to the emergency room as soon as possible.
Another reason to visit an emergency room for orthopedic trauma is if the trauma is accompanied by symptoms of suspected concussion, as is covered in detail over at frontlineer.com.
If you experience loss of mobility of the joint or you are having trouble moving it, then you should visit an emergency room as soon as you possibly can.
Those that experience paleness of skin at the site of the trauma and it is cold to the touch should also ensure they head over to an emergency room as soon as they can to be assessed.
One should also ensure they visit an emergency room for orthopedic trauma if they are experiencing severe swelling at site of trauma.
Deep lacerations on the site of the trauma is yet another compelling reason for one to head over to the emergency room to be attended to as soon as possible.
If one also experiences loss of consciousness after trauma, then they should also ensure they visit an emergency room for orthopedic trauma as soon as they can.
Another reason to head over to an emergency room for orthopedic trauma is if there are signs of joint dislocation, be it the elbow, knee, ankle among others. This is usually extremely panful, with more on it covered over at frontlineer.com.
You should also head over to an emergency room for orthopedic trauma if you have suffered a severely twisted ankle or foot.
If you have also suffered a severely sprained knee, then your next course of action should be to visit an emergency room to have it checked out and to check if there is damage to the knee ligaments as well.
Orthopedic trauma that leads to chronic back pain should also end up with you getting yourself over to the emergency room to be assessed as soon as possible.
Speaking of, if the orthopedic trauma results in chronic neck pain, then visiting an emergency room should be the next thing you do.
Another reason to visit an emergency room for orthopedic trauma is if the trauma has led to neurovascular injuries which is damage to major blood vessels servicing the brainstem, brain and upper spinal cord.
The folks over at frontlineer.com also recommend that those who have suffered human or animal bites over a joint should also head over to an emergency room as soon as they can.
If one is experiencing fever and chills after orthopedic trauma, then they should head over to an emergency room as well as this may be indicative of a septic joint.
If you are experiencing warmth and reddening of the affected joint, you should also head over to an emergency room as the joint may be infected.
Shortness of breath and chest pain after having had hip fracture surgery or total hip or knee replacement should also result in a visit to an emergency room as it is a sign that you may have a pulmonary embolus or a blood clot to the lungs.
If you are also experiencing calf swelling and pain after surgery to the lower extremity, then you should also visit an emergency room as this may be due to a blood clot in the deep veins of the leg.
Those experiencing unprompted draining of wound after surgery due to orthopedic trauma should also ensure they head over to an emergency room as soon as possible.
Swelling and numbness of fingers and toes in a patient with a solid cast is another reason to visit an emergency room for orthopedic trauma as it may be due to cast compression syndrome, as is covered over at frontlineer.com.
If a child is crying, has a fever and is refusing to walk despite not having a definite injury, they should be taken to an emergency room as soon as possible as this is usually a sign of hip joint infection.
The above are some of the reasons to ensure one visits an emergency room for orthopedic trauma with more on this and other topics to be found over at frontlineer.com.
