What is Sports Therapy?

Sports Therapy focuses on the prevention of injury and the rehabilitation back to functional, occupational and/or sports specific fitness, whatever your age or sporting ability.

It is based on the principles of sport and exercise sciences, including physiological and pathological processes, focusing on musculoskeletal and soft tissue rehabilitation. There are many similarities to physiotherapy and shared training however a  physiotherapist's training will include wider healthcare aspects whereas a sports therapist will tend to focus exclusively in the sports and exercise field. 

Many people ask what the difference is between a Sports Therapist and a Physiotherapist.  Ultimately a Sports Therapist is a trained healthcare practitioner who is equipped with the necessary skills to help rehabilitate and enable an athlete to return to sport in the shortest time possible by using a wide range of techniques to increase the speed of recovery.  These techniques combine skills commonly found in Physiotherapy and Osteopathy in order to bring about fast changes.  A Sports Therapist would usually deal with specific sporting injuries, however, Sports Therapists are equipped to deal with any type of injury/pain as a result of the the training they undertake.

Another common misunderstanding is that Sports Therapists can only treat sports related injuries, whereas on the contrary they are more than capable of treating neuromusculoskeletal injuries that can occur through any aspect of life. However, they do have a strong sport and exercise science knowledge base and are capable of incorporating this knowledge into an injury rehabilitation programme. Therefore, this makes them ideal for treating those who have sustained an injury through sport and plan to return to their sport after injury. 

Furthermore, Sports Therapists within their scope of practice are also capable of implementing injury prevention programmes, as well as also being qualified in first aid as it is a mandatory requirement.

Rehabilitation

Depending on the nature of your injury/condition, rehabilitation is necessary and essential in most cases. Sports therapy can support and guide you through an individualised rehabilitation programme, offering advice on exercise-based rehabilitation to return to daily life including activities, hobbies, work or sport.

• Non-sporting rehabilitation – Rehabilitation for those with injuries, aches and pains.  This helps individuals back to optimum levels of everyday life. This is irrespective of age and ability and is achieved by focusing on movement and gait that may cause daily stresses and strains. Therefore, sports therapy aims to increase your movement and strength range and reduce the risk of further injury.
• Sports specific rehabilitation – supporting an athlete through the early stage of injury, all the way to returning to their sport successfully.  Providing the right rehabilitation will assist those looking to return to their sport with confidence.  To achieve this, exercises and sports-specific drills are essential. Above all, this is because of the focus on biomechanical gait and increasing movement and strength. This will, in turn, help to reduce the risk of further injury.
• Injury Prevention (Prehabilitation) – this is ultimately essential for everybody in their everyday life, whether this helps to prevent further injury whilst at work or being involved in sport… which relates to keeping you injury-free in the future.

Finally, Sports Therapists are also all qualified in sports and remedial massage, which often causes them to be mistaken for Massage Therapists. However, this is just one of many treatment modalities that they are qualified to administer.