What is Sports Therapy?

How many people actually know what Sports Therapy is, or what the role of a Sports Therapist is? The answer is very few!

I often get people asking me 'so what do you actually do?'. Others just assume that a Sports Therapist only provides sports massage, or deals only with sporting injuries. This is not true.

Before I attended University and started my 3 year Sports Therapy degree I have to admit I didn't really know what a Sports Therapist was or how they fitted within the sports medicine model, so I'm hoping that this first blog will be informative and begin to change peoples views on the Sports Therapy profession. 

The Society of Sports Therapists state:

"Sports Therapy is an aspect of healthcare that is specifically concerned with the prevention of injury and the rehabilitation of the patient back to optimum levels of functional, occupational, and sports specific fitness, regardless of age and ability"

A Sports Therapist is a practitioner who has the following:

• knowledge and ability to assess and, where appropriate, refer on for specialist advice and intervention
• knowledge and ability to provide first aid and attend to injuries in a recreational, training, and competitive environment
• knowledge and ability to provide sports massage pre and post activity
• knowledge and ability to implement appropriate rehabilitation programmes
• knowledge to utilise sports and exercise principles to optimise preparation and injury prevention programmes

One of the biggest hurdles I have come across so far is the fact that many sports teams, health insurance providers etc. still only recognise Physiotherapists, and not Sports Therapists. Not only did this make it difficult for me to apply for jobs after graduating, but it has also restricted my client base to a certain extent, in the fact that I cannot accommodate patients who wish to claim off of their health insurance companies. Sports Therapy has been going through the accreditation process to become better recognised as a profession for a number of years now, but in the meantime it is down to us, as Sports Therapists to spread the word.

I hope this has been informative, and any comments/questions would be welcomed. This is my first blog so please be gentle!