Sports therapist : Job description

Sports therapists give advice to athletes on how to train and compete safely, as well as treat injuries and assist with rehabilitation. Their aim is to prevent injuries and to help those who are injured to return to full fitness.

Sports therapy and rehabilitation is concerned with musculoskeletal conditions arising from sporting activity, not with general healthcare. It focuses on understanding and preventing sports injuries and dealing with the effects of physical and emotional trauma due to sports injuries.

Sports therapists may work in sports injuries clinics or may work directly with a sports club or sportsperson, either professional or amateur. Many therapists combine working in this discipline with other sports-related roles. They may have a range of clients and workplaces, rather than being employed by one organisation.

A similar job role is sports rehabilitator, as they also deal with musculoskeletal management and exercise-based rehabilitation and fitness. They are regulated by British Association of Sports Rehabilitators and Trainers (BASRaT)  who accredit individual sports rehabilitation course. The course is three years long. However, the role is graduate level and is the course is only available at seven further education institutions.

Typical work activities

A sports therapist may be involved in any or all of the following activities:

• conducting an assessment of the players' or athletes' readiness and advising on exercises prior to an event or fixture;
• testing joints for ease and range of movement;
• strapping, taping, offering massage and preparing players or athletes physically and mentally;
• providing first aid;
• examining and assessing injuries and determining whether the athlete can continue playing or taking part;
• examining and assessing injuries and dealing with traumas, e.g. cuts, bruises and blisters;
• treating injuries, alleviating pain, mobilising injuries, giving various types of massage;
• rehabilitating injuries by using manipulative techniques, apparatus and electrotherapy;
• designing and monitoring rehabilitation programmes appropriate to the injury and the sport;
• deciding whether athletes or players need extra treatments and coordinating referrals to other practitioners;
• advising players or athletes on diet and nutrition (when therapists are appropriately trained);
• working alone or with coaches, trainers and/or fitness advisers to implement exercise, conditioning, core stability and injury prevention programmes, so that athletes reach and maintain peak performance;
• liaising with other health professionals in the sports sector and in mainstream medicine.