Barriers, Recognition and the Impact of Sports Physios on Prevention

Survey data from 2020 show sports physiotherapists taking part in injury registration in about 80% of teams, athlete assessment in about 75%, prevention itself in all cases and effectiveness analysis in around 89%. As the main person responsible for injury registration, the physiotherapist shapes both how the problem is identified and how effective prevention appears. Lack of time is the main barrier. Luciana suggests software instead of paper forms, triaging athlete complaints, and athlete education to reduce unnecessary demand. Most respondents worked part time, and those working with male teams were more likely to be full time. The Delphi experts agreed that staffing, funding, professional engagement and continuous education support prevention. She then discusses recognition of sports physiotherapy within sports and exercise medicine, equitable access for lower socioeconomic groups and the IFSPT's role, and closes by urging physiotherapists to register injuries properly, report numbers, show the savings from prevention and work on athlete adherence and education.