The last decades have seen an enormous shift in the practice of healthcare with widespread acceptance of the evidence-based practice paradigm.1 This change has been accompanied by an increase in the volume of clinical research2 and refinement of our understanding of how research should be conducted and reported.3 Concurrent with these changes, longitudinal analyses have identified improvements in the conduct and reporting of various types of research in many disciplines of healthcare.3-7 However, not all such analyses have identified improvements.8 A recent assessment of reports of randomised trials of physiotherapy interventions9 allows trial reports in sports physiotherapy to be compared to other clinical subdisciplines of physiotherapy, such as musculoskeletal, neurology or cardiorespiratory. Compared to all other physiotherapy trial reports, trials that enrolled sporting participants reported fewer key design features that reflect rigorous methods and allow readers to interpret the research fully. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to highlight the methodological features that are often lacking in sports physiotherapy trial reports, explain their significance and offer suggestions for improving the conduct and reporting of future trials.