Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
How to become a sports therapist
Help athletes achieve their sporting potential and prevent injuries
What is a sports therapist?
You'll assess athletes to understand the extent of their injuries, administer immediate therapy, and establish and support a rehabilitation plan to ensure that they're able to return to competition as quickly and safely as possible.
During events, you might treat minor injuries and determine if a participant is fit to continue. Prevention is also a key element of sport therapy by ensuring that competitors are physically prepared.
What qualifications do you need to be a sports therapist?
Although a degree is not mandatory for a sports therapist, most employers will favour this level of education.
Undergraduate degrees – a BSc (Hons) Sports and Exercise Therapy accredited by The Society of Sports Therapists (SST) is the optimum degree to pursue a career as a sports therapist.
Postgraduate studies – if you have an unaccredited undergraduate degree or a degree in an alternative but related subject, you might consider a master's in sports therapy, which again should be accredited by the SST.
What does a sports therapist do?
As a sports therapist, you'll be a healthcare professional specifically focused on the avoidance, urgent treatment and long-term relief of sports-related injuries.
You'll identify the most appropriate techniques, such as taping, strapping, soft tissue manipulation, and appropriate exercise regimes to optimise the physical ability of your clients.
You may also work with adults or children, amateurs or professionals, individuals or teams. Education can form a key part of the role, helping teams, sports clubs or groups of parents to understand some basic techniques of preparation, prevention and response.
Working with coaches and trainers, you'll develop and implement exercise, conditioning, core stability and injury prevention programmes to ensure that teams can maximise their squad availability and fitness. In professional environments, you'll probably be part of a larger cohort of professionals including sports psychologists, nutritionists and physiotherapists, working together to build integrated plans to maximise the availability and potential of high-value athletes.
Working with injured athletes will include carrying out assessments, for example, testing joints for ease and range of movement, pain and dysfunction. From this, you'll build a plan for rehabilitation which combines the desire for athletes and their teams to complete a speedy return to competition with the need for a considered approach which considers the immediate health of the athlete and their long-term performance.
As part of your role, you'll build up a catalogue of methodologies, treatments and strategies which you'll utilise based on your assessments of clients and their requirements, by:
- Conducting and documenting assessments for injuries and fitness levels
- Carrying out pre-competition readiness through massage, strapping, taping and directing warm-up sessions
- Developing long-term rehabilitation plans alongside other health care professionals
- Educating groups to improve their preparation and prevention capabilities
- Assessing injured competitors to determine their fitness to continue participation
- Providing advice and education on diet, nutrition and lifestyle issues
Becoming a sports therapist could be for you if...
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Positivity is your middle name
Encouraging injured athletes to overcome painful injuries and supporting them as they work through long periods of rehabilitation.
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You're confident
You'll need faith in your own ability to deploy your knowledge, skills and experience in order to maximise the potential of others and successfully return injured athletes to peak condition.
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You're all about the detail
Assessing clients, creating plans and delivering results requires exceptional organisation skills.
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You're a shoulder to rely on
You might expect that a professional athlete will be robust in the face of an injury, but faced with a long period away from competition, you'll need to handle them with a degree of sympathy and empathy.
What are the typical working hours for a sports therapist?
Your core hours will probably be 9-5, Monday to Friday, but you'll need to be available to support events during evening and weekends and you may also need to travel.
Salaries for a newly qualified sports therapist based in a clinic will be from around £17,000, rising to around £28,000 once you've gained a higher level of experience.
Opportunities to work within professional sports teams are usually open to experienced sports therapists, but can attract salaries around £35,000.
If you're a freelance sports therapist, you can typically earn £25 to £45 per session. Amateur sports clubs also offer sessional work to cover training or match days, at an average of £20 per hour. Some professional clubs offer part-time work, which includes evenings and weekends, with an average rate of £40 per hour.
The NHS has some opportunities for sports therapists, with roles usually sitting in band 5. This equates to salaries of between £27,055 and £32,934, depending on length of service.
