What to Expect

• Write down any questions you have about your child’s condition or treatment and bring them with you.
• Learn more about what to do before your appointment.  

Sports Physical Therapy sees school-age children, teens and young adults up to age 21 for several physical issues. We mainly see kids who:

• Have hurt themselves playing
• Have orthopedic injuries
• Need to have surgery or are recovering from a recent surgery

Your child will see a physical therapist (PT) who specializes in kids and sports injuries. The therapist will help your child recover from their injury and return to play without getting hurt again.

1. You and your child will meet with a PT to talk about your child’s injury and share your concerns.
2. The PT will evaluate your child. This could mean watching how your child moves and doing tests that tell us about your child’s strength, motion and balance.
3. By the end of your visit, the PT will explain what they found and what they recommend.

Visits are usually 40 to 80 minutes. 

• Comfortable clothing that is easy to move in. Bring shorts and tennis shoes for your child, if your child is not wearing these already.
• Braces or crutches, if your child uses them.

• Your PT will work with you to set specific goals for your child.
• To help your child’s function improve as they recover from their injury, we may ask you to do a home exercise program with your child.
• Learn more about what to expect by reading Sports Physical Therapy: What to Expect and Important Guidelines (PDF).

We will make sure you leave with a plan for what happens next, and we will try to answer all of your questions. MyChart is the most common way to reach your child’s therapist after you leave.

For most tests, the PT will share results with you during your child’s visit. For some tests, the PT needs to score the test after your visit. MyChart is your quickest and easiest way to access reports once they are done. You can also submit a medical records request.

• If the PT recommends that you return to Seattle Children’s for treatment, we will help you set up more appointments.
• If the PT recommends treatment with a therapist in the community, we can provide you with a list of community clinics in your area.
• The PT will send a report to the doctor who referred you or call them to talk about your child’s care.

• Call the clinic you are scheduled to visit, or use the cancellation feature in MyChart.
• Whenever possible, we ask that you cancel at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment.
• You will be unable to cancel your child’s appointment via MyChart if there is less than 24 hours to the time of their appointment and will need to call the clinic to cancel instead.
• If your child has more than 3 back-to-back missed therapy appointments or cancellations within 24 hours of the scheduled visit, we will need to cancel all but their next scheduled visit.  
• After these visits have been canceled you will only be eligible to schedule 1 visit at a time for the remainder of your child’s plan of care.

• If there is anything specific you should do to prepare your child for the type of visit you are having, the scheduler will tell you when you make the appointment.
• Read Sports Physical Therapy: What to Expect and Important Guidelines (PDF) to learn more.
• Learn more about preparing your child for a clinic visit.

• Find your location in our map and directions section.
• Arrive 15 minutes before your appointment to allow time for registration.