What's a Sports Therapist?

What's in the title of Sports Therapist?

What's a Sports Therapist title?

The title Sports Therapist is regulated only in US as outside of that region, it is currently unregulated(which includes Singapore). That means almost anyone can use the title of a sports therapist with little to no training requirements. A massage therapist in Singapore is not regulated and require little to no formal training to call themselves a massage therapist which when they are more in tune with sports injuries, call themselves a sports therapist. Being a sports therapist requires a minimum of a bachelors degree with either, Physiotherapy, Sports Science and the likes. However, there are number of sports therapists that are going for continuing education outside of Singapore to attain additional training as they are more comprehensive to exposing anatomy/ physiology and therapy based modules. A sports therapist may also be limited to access of assessments, treatments and modalities as these may cross the line of a regulated healthcare providers which may include, Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, Sports Medicine Physicians and Osteopaths. Read on what more of the title means here. 

What are the benefits to a Sports Medicine Therapist? 

A Registered Sports Medicine Therapist however sets the bar for the entry into sports medicine as they require additional training to their current qualification. A sports medicine therapist is exposed to a much wider access to orthopaedic assessments, exercise prescription, treatment modalities and a deeper exposure to the anatomy/ physiology of the human body. Some of what makes a sports therapist and a sports medicine graduate different can be found below of what they may study additional to their current formal qualifications(may differ from schools): 

• Anatomy/ physiology 
• Cadaveric lessons
• Exercise modalities 
• Orthopaedic assessments 
• Exercise prescription (rehabilitation/ preventative) 
• Kinesiology
• Biomechanics 
• Manual Muscle Testing 
• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation 
• Muscle Energy Technique 
• Facilitated Stretching
• Manual Therapy 
• HVLA 
• Dry Needling 
• Kinesiology Taping 
• Strapping Taping 
• Aquatherapy 
• Pharmacology 
• Special population 
• Management of acute/ chronic injuries
• Diet/ nutrition 
• Periodisation of weight training programme 
• Soft Tissue Manipulations
• Joint Manipulations
• Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Diagnostics Imaging 
• MRI / X-Ray interpretations 
• Clinical rotations/ attachments to clinics and hospitals
• and much more. 

Sports medicine is not only used for athletes in this era as higher demands of management, education and preventative measures is seen due to demands of exercising to combat the millennial lifestyle. 

Why choose a Sports Medicine Trained person? 

Most practitioners which includes physiotherapist, osteopaths, chiropractors and other healthcare providers do not include in a session having you exercise and do soft tissue work together. It's done separately and it's mainly due to the training aspect of not having enough exposure to exercise science and movement. You would usually have to book a session with a personal trainer separately or find a practitioner who is well versed in both. A sports medicine graduate however is well versed in having do soft tissue manipulation and having you work in one session as they are trained in doing so. A sports medicine If you are interested to find a registered sports medicine practitioner or wanting to learn to study sports medicine, click on the link below to learn how you can get started today. 

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