Physiotherapy vs. Sports Medicine

Hello! I am trying to decide whether to go into sports medicine or physiotherapy in Canada. Physiotherapy sounds very appealing to me, but I am getting a lot of negative feedback from physiotherapists who are encouraging me to consider medicine. So for all the practicing physiotherapists (in Canada or other countries where physiotherapy is a masters program, not a doctorate), what limitations do you experience due to not being fully licensed medical practitioners? Would you choose to do physiotherapy again, or would you go into medicine in a similar field like sports medicine? And vice versa - what limitations does a sports medicine doctor have, and would you choose to do it again?

Thanks

I had the same debate years ago when trying to decide on my career path. I am now a physio and have absolutely no regrets! I love my job and I work in the Orthopaedic and Sports Injury field, so get the best of both worlds. Ultimately what is your personality? If you are driven to help people achieve their fitness goals and recover from injury, the I think Physio is a great choice and you'll be practicing in 2 years. Sports Medicine is a specialty after med school, you won't be able to reach out to the population that you're interested in for a very long time, and in the end you're really a source of referral and you'll refer your patients on to physios, sports psychologists, osteos etc. Your time with your clients is limited, your boss is the government. I have great respect for physicians (most of them anyway), but you'd be surprised at how many docs out there (not necessarily Sports Docs, but inc family MDs) that don't know what the hell they're talking about as far as sports injury goes. They'll come to an assessment with a script for hip bursitis and it's really a lumbar nerve root referral and not their hip at all.

Anyway, I love being a physio and I believe that we offer an awesome service to the community. The profession has come a long way since I was a student. I hope I was able to sway you over to our side! ;)