Sports Rehabilitators

[Dr Damien]

to Caroline and Karen
If you do exactly what physios do then you probably are physios who specialize in a specific field(that is sports and musculoskeletal). I do not know how you are any different from physios and I think you should be respected for that. Concerning the issue of training, When I was trained, I was trained in the works of Anatomy like a medical Doctor would, does that make me a medical doctor No?But in your own case, you are trained as physios(with a different name) with a better application of a certain skill that isnt new to physios. I think that sounds like a specialist area to me. As time goes on, more professions will spore up taking extracts from a core profession thus forming something new.
So as sports rehabilitators, you guys are specialist physios although your certifications dont say that. Unless there is an added therapy that you do that is unheard off to physios then you are as good as any physio out there probably better because you specialize in something.
This is probably where the average physio may be superior; they can work in any specialty but that isnt a problem for you guys because you have already defined where you belong. I liken your case to an accelerated bsc/masters class in core msk and sports.

[karen.hankey]

to Caroline and Karen
If you do exactly what physios do then you probably are physios who specialize in a specific field(that is sports and musculoskeletal). I do not know how you are any different from physios and I think you should be respected for that. Concerning the issue of training, When I was trained, I was trained in the works of Anatomy like a medical Doctor would, does that make me a medical doctor No?But in your own case, you are trained as physios(with a different name) with a better application of a certain skill that isnt new to physios. I think that sounds like a specialist area to me. As time goes on, more professions will spore up taking extracts from a core profession thus forming something new.
So as sports rehabilitators, you guys are specialist physios although your certifications dont say that. Unless there is an added therapy that you do that is unheard off to physios then you are as good as any physio out there probably better because you specialize in something.
This is probably where the average physio may be superior; they can work in any specialty but that isnt a problem for you guys because you have already defined where you belong. I liken your case to an accelerated bsc/masters class in core msk and sports.

Thanks for that. Its nice to know that people do understand.

I have been qualified 4 years and my current boss is very big on the Sports Rehab profession. Our problem is that when you apply for jobs within sports injury/physio clinics it feels like we are just dismissed, as soon as a prospective employer reads the words "graduate sports rehabilitator", then ends of chance with them. This is made worse now because the big insurance companies are tightening up on who can treat their patients. It has been know for some Sports Rehabbers to get recognition for an insurance company, but now the big companies have entrance criteria of 5 yrs post grad, HPC registered and some of your work in a hospital. So even if a Sports Rehabber can show they are good at their job, they have no chance. Because this is the core of private clinical case load, they say they can't afford to take you on.

Also what annoys me at present is the media campaign that has recently started about checking your health professional is HPC registered. Now this feels like a kick in the teeth for me, I am doing the same job, to the same objective but just don't have the HPC number. This will make people not book in to see me, which makes no sense. Most patients are shocked to find out that I'm not a physio and ask me what the difference is. My answer is that we can only treat musculoskeletal problems, which in private practise is all you generally see anyway. So this HPC registered thing just seems another way to push Sport Rehabbers into the wilderness some more, and make it that even more jobs are inaccesible.

I just don't see how we can't all be taken on our own merits. Why should a physio with no musculoskeletal experience get a job over someone with 4 years experience? makes no sense. But it all comes down to the physio title and that damn HPC number. It should matter on how you treat, can you get people better, and are people willing to pay for that service?

[physio.smith]

Having worked with sports rehabilitators, sports therapists and remedial instructors I feel that they all play a vital and valuable role within their remit. I was luck enough to start specialising early when I qualified but when you compare some physios who have spent a couple of years rotating to someone who has specilised from the outset there is little comparison.

The only thing I would say is that those who I have worked with who did not qualify as physios, and thus did not do clinical rotations within the hospital setting (seeing neuro, cardiac, respiratory patients etc..) tend to be able to pick up that what they are assessing does not fit the picture, but not always what the cause is....then again a lot of physios don't always!

I hope that in the future the HPC regonises professionals for what they are and the role that they play.