Sportspeople often suffer injuries such as sprains, dislocations, swollen muscles, cuff injuries and strains. Physiotherapy is one of the interventions that can help treat sports injuries. If you are a sportsperson with a sports injury, below is an extract with a few questions to ask a physiotherapist before engaging their services. 

What is Your Experience With Sports Injuries?  

Working with an experienced physiotherapist helps improve your confidence in the treatment process. For instance, inquire about the therapist's training and certification. Physiotherapists recognised by sports and health agencies are likely to offer top-of-the-range services. You might also want to know whether the therapist has handled a similar injury. In most cases, each injury has its complexities. Nevertheless, consider physiotherapists who have treated similar injuries in the past. 

What Caused the Injury? 

As a sportsperson, you would want to compete at optimal performance. Injuries slow you down, making it difficult to get back to peak performance immediately after an injury. In most cases, the physiotherapist reviews your training procedures and the exercises you conduct to determine the cause of the injury. For example, you could have strained your body beyond its limits or failed to condition your body for intensive exercises. Sometimes, the injury could be caused by poor rehabilitation after a minor injury. For instance, it is not uncommon for sportspeople to ignore minor injuries since they presume they will heal. However, the injury could get severe if you continue to conduct intense exercises. Surprisingly, some sports injuries are caused by simple issues such as wearing the wrong shoes. This information should help you avoid further injuries. 

What Interventions Will You Use to Treat the Injury? 

The physiotherapist uses several metrics to determine the best techniques to treat the injury. First, they examine the severity of the injury. For example, besides muscles and tendons, are other body organs affected by the injury. For instance, you could have internal bleeding or a fracture. In this case, the therapist recommends specialist treatment such as surgery before they commence the rehabilitation process. Then, the therapist examines your medical records and body strength to determine the suitability of the various physiotherapy interventions. For instance, the therapist could avoid using electrotherapy if you have a severe skin illness. 

Finally, ask how long it will take before you can actively compete again. The therapist draws a management plan detailing the exercises and interventions they will use, the goal of these activities and the duration it should take to restore the injured body part.