Just steps from Youngstown Orthopaedic Associates' main doors sits the entrance to the area's first urgent care center dedicated entirely to the treatment of orthopaedic injuries.

"The sooner you can have it evaluated and diagnosed accurately you can get started on the appropriate treatment plan," said Dr. David Weimer with Youngstown Orthopaedic Associates.

Dr. Weimer, an orthopaedic surgeon, says 10 percent to 20 percent of all visits to traditional emergency rooms are for musculoskeletal or orthopaedic injuries.

In recent years, Youngstown Orthopaedic Associates have treated a high volume of patients whose first stop was the ER, which is why the practice decided to open its own center for those types of injuries.

"We have an X-ray facility right here. We have an MRI facility right here," said Dr. Weimer. "We also have the ability to repair cuts and lacerations and to apply splints and casts and braces that you would need to stabilize an injury."

Dr. Weimer says orthopaedic injuries are more common during the summer months. During the winter, the practice treats more elderly patients for injuries.

"Typically for urgent care, if you have an injury and it is accompanied by immediate, severe pain and swelling in the joint and you are not able to put weight on it," said Dr. Weimer.  "I would typically recommend coming in and having that evaluated to rule out a break for a fracture."

Dr. Weimer says patients who sustain injuries in motor vehicle accidents or patients who experience head or neck injuries should still seek medical attention at a traditional emergency department. 

 However, he says the majority of orthopaedic injuries can be evaluated and managed in the new urgent care facility.