Season / Sit out

Previous injury

Other sports / activities

Right or Left handed 

Team (school, club, or just for fun)

Sanity

Besides the usual how did it happen, where does it hurt, did you feel a pop, could you bear weight afterwards questions, use the SPORTS mnemonic to recall some other useful questions to ask. Is the sport they’re playing in season? If not, encourage them to sit out and fully rest / rehab before resuming. Have they had a similar previous injury? Repeated ankle sprains may result in weakness and imbalanced muscle groups, and repeated concussions are more concerning than a single one. What other sports or activities do they do that the injury could impact? When you tell a kid injured in a football practice not to play, he may not understand that applies to his club baseball team too. For upper extremity injuries, don’t forget to check and document whether they are right or left hand dominant. They may need a school note requesting extra time for writing assignments. (Middle and High schools also often have stairs – let students know to ask for an elevator key if one is available).  Were they playing for fun, for a rec team, for a high school team (big or small school?), or for a club team? The higher the level of competition (large high schools, club teams), the more likely that there is a trainer or knowledgeable coach to guide rehabilitation and return to play. Finally, get a feel for whether the parents and the patient have some sanity about the child’s sports participation. If everyone’s convinced that the child is destined for a full ride to college / a professional sports career, and he couldn’t possibly miss the 3 games this weekend for which he is the star player, you may need to spend extra time discussing and documenting your recommendations and/or make a referral to a sports medicine specialist. (But sometimes it’s true – I’ve had a high school senior tell me scouts were coming to watch him play. Then it becomes a judgement call based on the type of injury and likelihood of doing additional damage if the athlete plays.)