Urgent Care vs ER: Pain in Back
At one time or the other everyone has had some back pain to deal with, given how common it can be. It can be caused by a number of reasons and it can vary from being mild to being quite severe that it is near on unbearable. You may have slept at an awkward angle or may have overindulged yourself in physical activities or exercise or even had an accident or fall that is may be causing the pain in your back. Other times, back pain may be indicative of something more sinister, a serious underlying issue that needs to be looked at as a matter of urgency. This means that, where back pain is concerned, it may be treated from home with home remedies like rest and over-the-counter medication for the conditions that are not that serious or it may require urgent medical attention at either the ER or urgent care. Knowing the cases that need to be looked at over at urgent care and those that need to be looked at in the ER is important. That is where this article comes in as it will look to highlight the various cases and where they should be attended to.
As can be expected, mild to moderate conditions involving back pain are the ones that can be comfortably handled in urgent care. If you go to urgent care with more severe cases, you will only get referred to an ER and will end up with two bills. If you develop back pain after injuring it when doing some lifting or any other activity, then you should head over to urgent care and get yourself attended to. Most people will try to deal with the pain at home with pain medication, but if the pain persists and doesn’t go away after a day or two, then it is better to bite the bullet and head over to urgent care for assessment, with frontlineer.com being the best place to visit. This should be for mild to moderate pain only, as more serious pain should only be handled in the ER as severe back injuries could lead to spinal injuries which as can be imagined is very serious. Back sprains or strains can be comfortably looked at over at urgent care. This is mostly due to physical strain and can lead to herniated discs. If the pain is more chronic or flares up, then the best thing to do is head over to an ER.
The severe cases that need to be taken to an ER, with frontlineer.com being the best place to visit, include if you have back pain that is accompanied by severe belly pain. This should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. If you also have back pain and are unable to move one if not both of your legs, then you should also head over to an ER as soon as you can. Back pain that is accompanied by symptoms of a heart attack should also lead to one heading over to an ER as soon as possible. Some of the symptoms one should look out for as far as a heart attack is concerned include sweating, shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness, vomiting and nausea, an irregular heartbeat, dizziness as well as pain in the neck, jaw, arms, shoulders or abdominal pain especially the upper belly. Other red flags to look out for is if you have back pain as well as numbness and a tingling sensation, loss of control of the bladder or bowel or high fever. These cases should also only end up at an ER not urgent care.
Those with a history of cancer should also visit an ER as soon as they can if they present with pain in the back as should those with a compromised immune system either due to prescribed drugs, recent surgery or conditions such as HIV/AIDS. Those that are taking intravenous drugs should also head over to an ER as soon as they start experiencing back pain with the same applying to those who have been using steroids for a prolonged period of time. Obviously the severe cases of back pain can only be attended to at an ER since it has the facilities to not only conclusively diagnose patients but to treat them as well as opposed to urgent care which isn’t as equipped to deal with the more serious cases. If for example the problem is related to the spinal cord, one is going to need to go through imaging tests that will identify where the problem is with these facilities only available at an ER. Kidney diseases can also cause pain in the back with an ER being the place where tests can be done for diagnosis.
It is our hope that this article will come in handy as far as where to go between an urgent care or ER due to back pain, with frontlineer.com being the best place to visit for the best services on this and other medical issues.
