Three doors on one metro. Pick the one your highways favor.

How to pick the office

Pick by the drive you can actually make with a sore neck, not by the county line. A reader in Maryland Heights is closer to Hazelwood than to anything else. A reader in Kirkwood can go either way and should pick by the hour of the day and the direction of traffic. A reader in Wentzville belongs in O'Fallon. A reader in Belleville or Collinsville usually finds Hazelwood the shortest once they are across the river on I-270 or I-70, though Tesson Ferry is the answer from Columbia or Waterloo by way of the Jefferson Barracks Bridge.

Two practical notes. First, the midday closure is real and applies to all three offices; a noon call rings into a closed office, so call in the morning or after two. Second, O'Fallon runs Wednesday and Friday by appointment, which means a call first, not a walk-in.

What is behind every door

The clinic publishes three lanes: auto injuries, meaning diagnosis and a treatment plan after a crash; TBI and concussion rehab, with a named toolset that includes vagus nerve stimulation, neurofeedback, Alpha Stim, sensory motor integration, exercise with oxygen, oculomotor rehabilitation, and cognitive rehabilitation software; and sports injuries, with return-to-training care for athletes. The motto on the clinic's site is putting the CARE back in Healthcare.

What you should expect from the first visit at any of the three is on the first visit guide: a history, an exam, and the lane the clinic publishes for auto injuries, diagnosis and a treatment plan after a crash. What that record is and is not is on the record page.

What to say on the phone

Say crash exam, or concussion, or sports injury, so the call goes to the right lane. Say when it happened and what hurts today. Ask what to bring. Ask how the visit is billed and what they accept; this desk does not publish payment terms. If you already have an attorney, mention it so records can be sent where they need to go. You do not need to have decided anything about a claim before you get examined.

When none of the three is the right door

Chest pain, a sudden severe headache, weakness or numbness on one side, trouble speaking, a loss of bowel or bladder control, or a head injury with vomiting or worsening confusion is an emergency room trip right now, not a call to a clinic. An injury clinic is built for planned care. If an office sends you to an emergency room instead of booking you, that is the system working. The ER-or-clinic guide names the closest hospital corridors in each part of the metro.