Seeking treatment from a physical therapist should always be done with a specific goal (or goals) in mind. Are you going to therapy because you have knee pain when you squat? Do you find yourself avoiding squatting and now have to substitute exercises, resulting in difficulty in other athletic activities? While pain management ought to be discussed, so should activity modification. Oftentimes, I advise patients to modify their current training while we teach techniques to manage pain. Just like learning a technical skill in sport, so too, should you be learning how to independently manage pain to improve function. While “hands on” therapy helps, creating a plan of care with independent exercises builds confidence that you are capable of managing pain. This sets the athlete up for success. What happens if they’re traveling to a different country and you have no access to hands-on treatment? Get on that home exercise program! You should expect consistent improvement in pain, dysfunction and confidence with sporting activities. Communication with your therapist is very important! Discuss where you’re at now and where you want to go. Discuss your timeline, how often you train, what type of training you engage in, length of training sessions, how often you compete, what the demands of competition are, how you communicate with coaches etc… All pieces of the puzzle should be considered. An effective therapist is one that pays attention to what YOU need as an athlete.