Clearly describe the roles, skills and responsibilies of a Sports Therapist and Physiotherapist
Clearly describe the roles, skills and responsibilies of a Sports Therapist and Physiotherapist
The Role of a Sports therapist
Sports therapists need a lot of different skills and a wide range of knowledge. If you look at most therapists they are usually sportsmen/women themselves or used to do sport to some level. People find this job interesting and like the fact that they are helping people to recovery. A sports therapist can set up their own business wherever they want to although it would have to meet certain standards. There are a lot of therapists at leisure centres or sports clubs however there are also some that work in a group in their own environment but are associated with certain clubs. (E.g. Football, tennis club) Many sports therapists work on a self employed basis. They have no standardisation of pay. A professional therapist working in a sports team can earn anything between £26,000-£30,000 a year. However full time jobs are usually only offered to the experienced therapists, they have no work as assistants to build knowledge and experience. An assistant can earn up to 18,000 a year. Professional sports therapists can charge £25+ an hour depending on their qualifications and level of experience. It also depends on their work base. If they work in a rich club, for example Esporta leisure club or David Lloyds they can charge more as the people that are paying are prepared to pay more. Some sports therapists will work in one or more clinics and also work with one or more amateur or professional sports clubs on a part time basis. Others will improve their income with part time jobs, e.g. as a lecturer on sports courses in further and higher education, a sports coach (football, tennis) or a personal trainer. They can also offer this to the client, which of course will develop a better therapist client relationship and a better income. Experience and well qualified sports therapists can look for full time jobs with sports teams or build up enough clients to work full time in a clinic.
Here is a list of different ways in which a sports therapist can work:
* Sports injury clinics, either on a part time/full time contract or on a freelance basis.
* Self-employment. This could involve setting up and running a sports injury clinic or offering sports massage and sports injury treatment sessions for example at sports centres, gyms or leisure centres.
* Professional sports clubs or teams (like football teams) as a full or part time sports therapist or sports masseur. In larger clubs a sports therapist may concentrate on sports massage and work together with a physiotherapist. In smaller clubs a sports therapist could have a much wider range of responsibilities such as physiotherapy, massage and maybe even doing unrelated things the manager wants them to do.
* Amateur/semi professional sports clubs and teams (at national, county or local level-usually on a part time or freelance basis)
* Health and fitness centres, clubs or gyms.
* Sports and leisure centres
* The National Health Service (NHS) there are a few NHS trusts that have employed sports therapists for rehabilitation work and to sort out rehabilitation programmes.
* Further education to give more job opportunities and knowledge.
A sports therapist needs to know what they can perform and what treatment they can carry out. They also need to have a good rapport with the client so they will be comfortable if the therapist asked fellow professionals for their advice on the ...
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* Health and fitness centres, clubs or gyms.
* Sports and leisure centres
* The National Health Service (NHS) there are a few NHS trusts that have employed sports therapists for rehabilitation work and to sort out rehabilitation programmes.
* Further education to give more job opportunities and knowledge.
A sports therapist needs to know what they can perform and what treatment they can carry out. They also need to have a good rapport with the client so they will be comfortable if the therapist asked fellow professionals for their advice on the matter. A sports therapist also needs to know when to refer a patient to a physiotherapist, doctor or other professionals. This can happen when a serious injury has taken place and it is an area in which a sports therapist cannot help with. This can be a bone injury or a very serious sprain or muscular strain. This is why many sports therapist work with physiotherapists as well, as they can work together and provide results which are quite beneficial. If sports therapists do their job correctly they can speed up the recovery period. All different types of people can benefit from sports massage, which is why it is a very good and pleasing career to take part in.
Massage therapists must have a wide range of knowledge on certain topics. They must have a good knowledge of the human body and they way it works. This is the anatomy and physiology side of it. They need to know about sport to a certain degree as well as the techniques used in that respective sport as this helps conclude what exactly is wrong and what needs to be done. A range of massage techniques need to be known, there are three main ones Effleurage, Petrissage and Frictions. There are other techniques as hacking, cupping, vibration, knuckling and trigger pointing however these are more advanced techniques. The more you have been studying sports therapy the more massage techniques you will know and be able to also perform. A sports therapist needs to know about six massage techniques as well as strapping techniques, resistance training techniques, possible manipulation of joints, first aid and stretching techniques. There are several stretching techniques some of which are several stretching techniques some of which are static, ballistic, and isometric and PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation). It is important for sports therapists to know stretching and resistance techniques, as these needs to be used in rehabilitation. Certain techniques benefit certain injuries. Also when diagnosing an injury at first these techniques to be carried out to decide how bad the injury is. This can be decided on the flexibility of the muscle, strength of the muscle and range of motion of the joint around the muscle. Sports therapists need to have knowledge of first aid as this also contributes to the rehabilitation programme they will set out for the client. Some they should know about is R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation). A therapist should be able to carry out all of these and tell them how long to do this procedure for as well as how long to stretch for and what stretches to carry out. A sports therapist also needs to have a very good knowledge of muscles, injuries and what they are doing so they can give the correct advice and provide the correct treatment.
Sports therapists frequently improve and update their massage skills and knowledge. They do this by going to courses and reading certain books. These courses are usually in the region of 2-7 days long and give a lot of new information and better techniques and ways to massage and work. A lot of Sports therapists are always improving as they work; they go on further courses as well as working. Some therapists have to work for example members for the Society of Sports Therapists, and do a minimum of ten hours of approved training a year and get achieve a valid first aid certificate to keep insured and remain members. Self employed sports therapists would have to pay the cost of these courses themselves and attend in their own personal time. Sports therapy is a career that can be entered at varied levels, there are always opportunities and chances for therapists to improve and take additional qualifications whilst still working. An example of this would be a part time degree. Improving their qualifications enables a sports therapist to offer a wider range of treatments and can lead to more job opportunities plus a bigger salary.
Sports therapy is not a state registered profession. Anyone who has taken a sports therapy course can in theory, call him or herself a sports therapist and offer treatments. This cause can be anything major like a 3-year course or even a minor weekend course. These qualifications come from the courses they have taken and length of time they have taken them for. Entry into sports therapy is possible with certain qualifications, these are:
* BSc Hons degree in Sports Therapy;
* HND in Sports Therapy
* Diploma courses in Sports Therapy (offered at many levels by a range of providers)
* Advanced Diploma in Academic and Clinical Sports Therapy
Reference back up - http://careers.lancs.ac.uk/porfiles/C/C5_Sports_therapist.pdf
The course a therapist chooses depends on how much detail they want to go into and how long they want to take the course for. Obviously the more detail and time they spend on it, the more opportunities of better more respectable jobs will arise.
A lot of becoming a good sports therapist depends on personal qualities as well. These are very important as you will give your self a better reputation and chance of working with further clients. Some of these personal qualities are:
> Being able to motivate and encourage others
> The ability to work well with groups as well as individuals. (versatile)
> To have a hardworking attitude and a good approach to work
> Very good inter-personal and social skills
> The ability show sensitivity and care with an injured or unhappy client
> A good and thorough knowledge of sport as this can ultimately help to design and produce a rehabilitation programme for the client.
Maturity would also help with the job however there are no age restrictions and many different ages can work. Other personal skills that a sports therapist should have are honest reliability, empathy, professionalism, observant and good communication skills.
The best time to work in sports therapy is the afternoons or evenings as this is when athletes and everyday people finish their train or job. The weekends are especially busy as everyone is usually free at this time and book appointments. If you are working for a team a sports therapist needs to be available 7 days a week as well as during and after matches. It is a long job and people find it very stressful at times as it can disrupt evenings and weekends with family or friends. It is also hard to maintain the expectations the players or coaches expect. Therapists travel a lot and there are some that will visit the client in their own home or a place of their
The Role of a Physiotherapist
Physiotherapists prevent, diagnose and treat musculoskeletal and respiratory impairments and disability. Their intervention is physical to a large degree (including exercise, manual therapy and electrical modalities) and educational. The goal of these interventions is to reduce pain and optimise the patient's independence and function by improving their ability to move and breathe.
Chartered Physiotherapists combine their specific knowledge, skills and approach to improve a broad range of physical problems associated with different systems of the body, in particular the neuromuscular (brain and nervous system), musculoskeletal (soft tissues, joints and bones), cardiovascular and respiratory systems (heart and lungs and associated physiology). People whom are often referred to physiotherapists by doctors or other health and social care professionals. As a result of distinctive changes in health care, people are referring themselves directly to physiotherapists without previously seeing any other health care professional.
Some Physiotherapists are self employed, but most are often as a member of a team with other health or social care professionals. They may be employed or self-employed and can work alone.
Both becoming and being a physiotherapist is hard work but there is a rich and rewarding and variety of work available to qualified physiotherapists and the opportunities within the profession, both in the UK and internationally.
Here is a list of different ways in which a physiotherapist can work:
* Outpatients clinics - Advising and treating people with spinal and joint problems, or recovering from accidents and sports injuries
* Patients in hospital - Treating in-patients, including people in intensive care units - helping very ill people to keep their chests clear of secretions while they are too poorly to cough effectively and to keep their limbs mobile whilst confined to bed
* Schools - Working with teachers and parents in the support of children with developmental movement problems
* Workplaces & Industry - Advising managers and staff on injury prevention as well as treating specific problems
* Sports and Community centres - Promoting health and preventative health education of people through progressive exercise programmes and back care classes
* Women's health - Advising women on ante-and post-natal care, exercise and posture, and managing continence and post-gynaecological operations (specialist physiotherapy can also help men with continence problems
* Elderly care - Maintaining mobility and independence, rehabilitation after falls or treating arthritis and Parkinson's disease
* Stroke patients - Helping people with paralysed limbs to restore normal movement
* Orthopaedics - Regaining movement and strength after spinal operations and hip, knee and other joint replacements; treating patients who have accidents and fractures
* Mental illness - Holding relaxation and body awareness classes, and improving confidence and self-esteem through exercise
* People with learning difficulties - Developing people's potential through sports and recreation; assessing and providing specialist footwear, seating and equipment
* Private sector - Working independently in private practice, clinics, hospitals, and GP surgeries, treating a wide range of conditions
* Voluntary organisations - Providing expertise and advice in organisations that support people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease
Three or four years of full-time study are most common to becoming a Chartered Physiotherapist. There is a large amount of self-directed study, and clinical placements of 4-6 weeks. This is a full-time programme and you must be certain of your ability to commit yourself completely for the years the courses require.
Accelerated physiotherapy programmes offer the ability to acquire a licence to practice physiotherapy if you have certain qualifications. A degree subjects such as a biological science, psychology or sports science, (usually first class or upper second class degree level), may make you eligible. Successful graduates will be eligible to apply for state registration and membership of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
More physiotherapy qualifying places have become available due to the Government's NHS Plan but competition for places is likely to continue.
Ronaq Sachde
BTEC National Diploma in Sport & Exercise Science
