Why Same-Day Appointments Are Important for Joint Dislocations

When you dislocate a joint, your surrounding bones are forced out of normal alignment, whether it’s your shoulder, finger, hip, or knee. It’s an injury that can be intensely painful and severely limit your ability to move. 

Prompt treatment is essential — not just for pain relief, but to protect your nerves, blood vessels, and soft tissues from lasting damage.

That’s why our team at Full Orthopedics Urgent Care in North Miami Beach, Florida, offers same-day and walk-in appointments for joint dislocation treatment. We have the equipment and knowledge to ensure you get expert care when every minute counts. Here’s why quick care is so essential.

What happens when you dislocate a joint

Your joints hold your bones together snugly and give movement to your body. But a fall, sports injury, or other accident can force the bones in a joint out of their normal position, resulting in a dislocation.

Dislocated joints can cause sudden, intense pain, swelling, bruising, and an inability to move the joint properly. Dislocations most commonly affect the shoulder, fingers, elbow, or knee, and require prompt medical attention to reposition and prevent lasting damage.

The risks of delaying treatment for dislocations

Leaving a dislocated joint untreated can make your injury worse, even if it’s only for a few hours. Symptoms like swelling and muscle spasms often increase over time, making it more difficult and painful to put your joint back in place.

Delayed treatment can also increase your risk of damage to nearby ligaments, tendons, cartilage, or nerves. In some cases, it may even lead to chronic instability or increase your chances of future dislocations.

Fortunately, getting dislocation treatment quickly helps reduce pain, prevent complications, and improve your odds of a full recovery, especially when care is provided by a specialist who understands the intricacies of joint anatomy.

What to expect during same-day dislocation care

Joint dislocations are usually the result of a sudden impact, and the surprise of the injury can leave you wondering what to do next. At Full Orthopedics Urgent Care, we offer walk-in urgent care for dislocations so you can get the right treatment as fast as possible.

When you arrive, we perform a thorough physical exam. We may order imaging, such as an X-ray, to assess your injury. We have these capabilities on-site so we can get results quickly.

In most cases, we manually realign your dislocated joint in a procedure called closed reduction, which is done carefully and often under local anesthesia or sedation for comfort. Once your joint is back in place, we stabilize it with a brace, sling, or splint, and give you a recovery plan tailored to your injury.

For more complex or repeat dislocations, we might discuss further treatment like physical therapy or even surgical repair for chronic joint instability. We offer follow-up care and can provide referrals to specialists as needed.

You shouldn’t have to wait days for an appointment or go to an ER where orthopedic expertise may not be immediately available. At Full Orthopedics Urgent Care, you can be seen immediately by a specialist with experience in joint injuries right when it matters most. Walk into our clinic or call our office to let us know you’re on your way.