Why Visit an Emergency Room? Bone, Joint & Muscle Disorders
We would love to leave a healthy, active life, but that is not always the case especially when you take into account that, movement and locomotion, which are a big part of normal life, are for the most part dependent on the health and conditions of our bones, joints and muscles. This means that any issues or damage to these body parts is likely to have a big impact on how we live our normal lives. However, despite how hard we try to protect them, due to normal wear and tear through normal activities or through sports for athletes, our bones, joints and muscles are likely to have issues at one time or the other. This may be due to one sustaining an injury or damage to these body parts or one suffering a condition or disorder of the same. It is also worth pointing out that not all conditions involving bones, joints and muscle disorders should be taken to an emergency room. Knowing which conditions warrant a visit and which don’t is therefore important in this context. For those that warrant one to head to an emergency room, the question that arises is exactly why should one do so? Well, this article will look to have this question answered by highlighting the risks one exposes themselves to by not doing so and the reasons why an emergency room is well placed to handle these disorders.
One of the most common joint disorders out there is osteoarthritis which results from the wearing down of the cartilage between two joints, resulting in the bones rubbing on one another. It usually causes severe joint swelling and pain and may be due to varying reasons from genetic ones to playing of contact sport. Most people elect to head over to the emergency room especially if the condition was due to an injury so that they can deal with the pain and swelling, which is important as if this disorder is not attended to, it may cause one to totally lose functionality of the affected joint, which may have a major impact on one’s quality of life. Another joint disorder is gout which, although it is a serious condition, it is not one that may be termed as a medical emergency hence worth visiting an emergency room over. However, as is explained by the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, severe or acute gout attacks should be handled at an emergency room. Some of the symptoms include severe joint swelling as well as reddening of the joint, acute pain among others. If not immediately attended to, one runs the risk of getting the joint infected which may lead to one loosing functionality of the joint completely, which should be reason enough to visit an emergency room for the same.
Another joint and bone disorder that is quite common is rheumatoid arthritis, commonly referred to as just arthritis. This, as is discussed in detail by the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the joints as well as the surrounding tissues. It is one of the most debilitating joint and bone disorders around and there are symptoms that if one presents with, they should definitely head over to an emergency room as soon as possible. This includes symptoms such as shortness of breath, severe stomach pain, high fever, severe and painful red eyes among others. All these are signs that you need to head over to an emergency room and if you don’t, consequences include joint destruction and deformity which leads to eventual loss of functionality of affected joint, disability, coronary artery disease, anemia among others which is another reason why you should visit an emergency room for bone, joint and muscle disorders.
Muscle disorders, also known as myopathies, are also seemingly on the rise among the populace right now. Inflammatory myopathies such as polymyositis, inclusion body myositis among others are just some examples of muscle disorders. There are a number of symptoms to look out for, all of which are covered in detail over at frontlineer.com, that if you present with, should have you heading over to an emergency room as soon as possible. The fact that myopathies if left untreated can lead to disability as well as being life-threatening is reason enough to visit an emergency room for the same. Emergency rooms are well placed to deal with bone, joint and muscle disorders as they have the capabilities both in terms of diagnosis and treatment to handle them in satisfactory manner. This includes facilities to carry out synovial fluid aspiration for gout diagnosis, blood tests to check for infections, imaging facilities such as CT scans, CAT scans, X-rays among others as well as muscle biopsies among other techniques. Treatment courses such as administering of IV antibiotics, IVIG, pain medication, anti-inflammatory drugs among others.
From the ensuing conversation, it is easy to see why one should visit an emergency room for bone, joint and muscle disorders, with more on this and other topics to be found on the ever reliable frontlineer.com.