I think this discussion is getting a bit ridiculous. It is clear that most of the non-Rehabilitators (ie Physios!) haven't got a clue what they are talking about!

I am a Chartered Physiotherapist and my husband is a Graduate Sports Rehabilitator, so i do feel a little qualified to make a point on this issue.

Firstly, there needs to be a distinction made between a massage or sports therapist (some of whom can adopt these titles after a 12 week course) and a Graduate Sports Rehabilitator who spends 3 years studying musculoskeletal physiotherapy in massive detail, as well as going into much more detail about strength training and conditioning, clinical reasoning and functional rehabilitation.

Any GSR could comfortably walk into an NHS OPD setting and start at a reasonable senoir II/I level, whereas us Physiotherapists can only walk in with a relatively basic knowledge. And this is rightly so, as we spend some of our 3 years studying neuro/respiratory etc etc. There needs to be a sharing of skills, an appreciation of what we each do well and also our limitations in practice.

Physiotherapists should not feel intimidated, but use this reasonably new profession as a new benchmark in our level of graduate skill set. A little competition never hurt anyone!

As for working with elite athletes, they have us on that one. There is no way without further study new graduate Physiotherapists could walk into an EIS facililty and functionally progress sport-specific athletes as well as a GSR.

We have such a great range of knowledge that we should be proud of, and instead of belittling our titles by feeling the need to add to them (for instance: Consultant Specialised Orthopaedic Physiotherapist, what ever was wrong with Chartered Physiotherapist anyway?!) and taking pops at other professions, we should be striving together as a profession to up the game!