Physiotherapist Vs Sports Therapist

Hi all,

In the future I hope to train in either Physiotherapy with a view to specialising in sport or train as a sports therapist. I just wanted to know what are the comparisons and merits of each profession.

I have been reading another forum in the UK that has a category relating to sports therapies called 'The healthy Pages'. There are many comparisons made between the professions and physiotherapy seems to get quite a bad press on there.

Examples

physiotherapy and sports therapy crossovers - Healthypages

Doctor asks??? - Healthypages

I wanted to ask opinions on this forum. If in the future I want to treat athletes is it best to train as a Physio and then specialise or take the Sports Therapy route?

Yeah theres a lot of this nonsense flying around on the internet

'im a chiro, chiros are better than physio'

'im an osteopath, osteos are better than chiros'

give it a rest. We're all taking different approaches to treat our patients, just let your results speak for themselves. Its pointless to compare as besides anything else not all physios use the same modalities for each condition as everyones clinical judgement is different, same for STs.

I would say that regardless of your eventual intention to treat athletes, you will find it MUCH easier to get a job if you do physiotherapy, and the course is funded by the NHS so your get your tuition paid too. I did physio and came straight out and started working for a premiership football club at academy level, would i have got that job if i'd done sports therapy instead of physio? I honestly dont think so, theres not a single ST who works at our club their all chartered physiotherapists (although i dont have a very wide scope there, my club might be the exception not the rule). You also have the wider oppurtunity outside of sport if you decide its not for you (Neuro, respiratory, burns, amputees, c.o.e, blah blah blah) that you cant really do if you take ST. Obviously my opinion is pretty biased though, being a physio =P

I totally agree with ophqui. I think it depends on personal knowledge and clinical reasoning skills to who is better not what their title is.

With regards to study, I am actually an ST who is having the trouble that ophqui suggested you may have if you choose the ST route. You (for now hopefully!) are much more employable if you are a Physiotherapist, and it definitely gives you more options with regards to employment.

I currently work in professional football as well although at a low level, and for any top jobs I'll probably need to do a physio masters unless I have the right contacts

Hi all,

This is an update on my original question. I keep hearing and reading different things with regards to Sports Therapy and Physiotherapy and I'm more confused than ever. I found this on the original forum that I posted about. Please look at post 65 on the attched thread link. Is this what happened and is it plausible?

Sports Therapy in Frontline this month - Page 4 - Healthypages

Hi - will look at link soon. [edit: just did - site is down for maintenance - sorry, it is 23:28hrs here - going home now!]

i employed a sports therapist (sports rehabilitator?) trained in the UK - she was great but she was similar to an exercise scientist/physiologist that we have here.

much more employable as a physio.

My ST had?first class honours and was very bright but didn't have the manual handling skills a physio would (obviously).

As a biased physio, go physio...in the end, you get further without as much effort...And in the end, because of what physios can do, a good physio will be better than a good ST simply because there are a greater range of conditions a physio can address...

...it is like dogs and poodles. a poodle is always a dog. A dog is not always a poodle.

So a physio can learn and is licensed to do exercise rehab to elite levels of sport. So is a ST (i am guessing). But a physio can use manual therapy, electrotherapy, cardiopulmonary, Neural, Paediatrics, gerontology, acupuncture, etc etc etc so there are less limitations.

In the end, physio is not "better" than a ST, just better because there is more scope for work, employment and opportunities

Just my opinion only though...

Hi alophysio,

Thanks for your reply. There are people on the other forum who would disagree. Some believe that a diploma route offers more hands on skill than a Physio or sports therapy degree! Unfortunately over here there are huge differences in standards for these diploma courses. I can see that the best route is probably Physiotherapy for opportunities etc. There must be more unemployed sports therapists in the UK than there are physio's....and that is saying something! Most people in the UK don't know what a sports therapist is or what skills they can offer to joe public aswell as sports men and women. Thanks again for your response.

Thanks Dano75.

What was in that post you were referring to?!

In my experience, most people think their course or profession is better than someone else's simply because you don't want to face the facts that what you are doing is "not as good" as something else. So physios trash chiros even though chiros have more manipulation skills due to practice. Chiros bag physios even though physios are far more advanced (in general) in exercise and rehab than chiros are etc etc.

i find that exercise sports scientists rubbish physios here about their lack of exercise knowledge but we don't rubbish them because they can't help a cystic fibrosis patient, dense L hemiplegic patient, an acute ankle sprain, a patient with migraines and a patient with a back injury in the space of 2 hours...you know what i mean?

I think physios are lacking in some of that high level exercise knowledge...but certainly have the core stability game all sewn up. The amount of terrible information and the bastardisation of the research out there is phenomenal. I am working to get more info out there...

Thanks!

Hi Alo,

Sports Therapy in Frontline this month - Page 4 - Healthypages

This is the link. Post 65 on the thread. There is a lot criticism about Physio's on this linked forum. I am sure the site will be up and running again soon so you can judge for yourself. You are right, everyone thinks they are better than everyone else!

Thanks dano75 - just invited discussion :) I am happy to provide what i consider a balanced view...there are always different things to take into consideration...perhaps they haven't thought about some of them? I know if i felt like i was being attacked (which is what i think they feel via CSP) then i probably overlook things as i om concentrating on defending myself :)

Cheers!

Hi Alo,

I saw your post on the 'other' forum. It will be interesting to see the response that you get on there. I am going to start another thread encouraging UK based physio's to add their thoughts aswell. Its quite a one sided debate on there and would be good to hear the opinions of Sports Physiotherapists aswell as sports therapists whether degree level or diploma.

I am currently studying sports therapy. I chose it over physio as it was what I wanted to do, I didn't want to be treating people with respiratory conditions, strokes etc and working in a hospital. I have definately enjoyed the degree more than I would have enjoyed physio.

However I am worried about job prospects now. All the sports jobs seem to advertise for physios. I can't even manage to get a student placement which I need as part of my degree.

I am now thinking of training as an animal physio... anyone aware of job prospects there??

Hi Swiss Ball - I think your story illustrates my point...job prospects are harder, experience is harder to come by, etc etc

BTW, what do you feel are the differences between Sports Therapists and Physiotherapists?

If you have a physio degree, you can quite easily go and do additional CPD courses in sport specific areas that a sports therapist degree might have that a physio degree doesn't... If a sports therapist wants to do what we do, they have to do a degree and 1000 hours clinical placement. Simples.

Thanks Bobo...i got that part...

...but what does a Sports Therapist do? How is it different to what physios do? What treatment methods do they employ?

Sports therapy is kind of like the MSK side of physio with massage and a bit of sports science. Injury diagnosis - Joint assesments/special tests etc, joint mobs, pnf, big emphasis on rehab techniques, various massage techniques, exercise testing and prescription, nutrition..... I guess we go into much more depth of just one area of physio.

Hi Swiss Ball,

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

I know that on other threads, ST's have been upset because the CSP has been doing something or other about ST's...can you inform me about that side of things?

From what i can gather, ST's would like to be accorded physio status or rego (?) but CSP are fighting against that...do i have that right?

From my point of view as a MSK physio, i personally think conferring the title of physio to ST's is dangerous simply because you aren't trained in the other things. I am not judging whether you are same, better or worse in MSK, just that being a physio is more than MSK...

I don't particularly feel threatened by the idea of ST but for ST to actually exist, i think there must be some sort of vacuum allowed by physios for this to occur...that vacuum is probably lazy practice.

I just literally spent tonight assessing and treating a lady who has seen 2 Specialist physiotherapists and she didn't really know what was wrong with her body still after 4 years, 7 - 10 prolotherapy courses and platelet enriched plasma injections...Those physios are excellent physios BTW but I was the only physio according to her that listened to her whole history - it took 50mins to get it all but i knew what was wrong before i put my hands on her.

I think physios can be their own worst enemies. If ST's have a place now in the system, it is because we as physios have let a segment of our traditional market be captured...If we do things poorly, then people will look for something else.

Thanks.

I don't think ST's want to be titled physio's, it's not the same thing.... they just want to have their qualification recognised to the same level and to be under HPC regulation.

Physio's have knowledge in areas that ST's don't and do not pretend to. However, that is reversed too, if someone is suffering is sporting injury, than an ST has studied that area in a lot more depth and is proably more suitable than a physio.

I understand that physio's wouldn't want ST recognised, I'm sure they want to keep the sports world to themselves... doesn't mean that's right though!

As sport therapy required a special training to work on particular injury for sport. All are working hard for getting best result, because everyone how health is main concern for the sport player. I don’t think it is right to blame on the sport therapist without any prior experience.

Hi Swissball - i can appreciate that. I think a fairer comment would be that "it would seem to you that ST's have more training initially than physios".

I have spoken to my staff member who is a ST and ran her own practice in the UK with osteos, massage therapists etc.

She scoffed at the notion that STs are more qualified than physios to treat sports injuries but that there were lots of ordinary physios around which is why STs can do quite well.

I didn't realise what a ST was until i read more on this forum, other forums and speaking with my staff member...

but that is only my opinion (and hers - and she is a great therapist by the way :) )

So i guess it is up to the physios to lift their game. A degree in applied science should give the scientific background necessary to understand the anatomy and physiology of soft tissue injuries, how they might occur and how to prevent them. Unfortunately (myself included here) most uni students don't engage their brains until later. Then practical experience with the lowest grades in clubs should then allow the practical component under more experienced physios...

Could STs do this? I can't see why not - it is just harder to break in.

It is the same thing here. I have loads of experience and have helped national level athletes in the past who have sought me out but if i were to apply for a job with a sports team, even a low level club team, i would struggle because it tends to be who you know, not what you know and whether you have "served your time" in the lower grades... so that's cool. I don't particularly fancy spending my weekends cold on the sidelines - i do that watching my kids anyway :) So I just see people when they seek me out.

Anyway, to the OP, i think that physios will defend their turf, i think they have good reasons to defend their turf but i don't think they would try to put people out of practice. I also think that if you want to treat athletes, then it is best to train as a physio and volunteer at a club ASAP :)

Cheers

Hi all,

Pretty much agree and am in a very similar position to ophqui. At my club we have 2 sports therapists and a sports therapy student working along with the physios. The STs have been there for years but if im honest they do little more than provide sports massage. We do 99% of the assessing, treatments and rehab. The ST student helps with massages for her hours but works mostly with us.

Iv had the physio ST discussion with the STs and asked what they think the difference is and they simplest answer I got was ST doesnt give you a medical background. I went into physio with a view to going into sports and iv found STs are only at the higher level which agrees with the general consensus that ST is harder to get a job in as where do you start and how do you get to the high levels (all about who you know in most cases). I asked the ST student why she chose that over physio, her answer...she didnt have the grades to do physio.

I read back and think it sounds like im being very bias towards physio and against STs (there will be to an extent as I am a physio :P) but I honestly dont mean to be. We all work very well off each other at my club and bounce ideas back and fourth but for all the common, basic sports injuries seem to follow the same train of thought. Iv definitely gained some experience in the area of later stage rehab off the STs but think we have the upper hand at the more complex injuries and when neuro complications come into play.

If I was to go back and do it all again would I choose physio or ST? Answer is physio as there are few jobs as it as at the moment and think limiting yourself makes it even harder and as previously mentioned physio has the other areas which gives more prospects at least initially. I think physios are still more sought after in the sporting world and think STs definitely have their place but dont think things will change any time soon with physios being the thought of people looking after athletes.

Just an opinion and some thoughts thrown in from my experiences.

Agreed Yowsy123. Some good thoughts in there :) I think the onus is on us to become better at what we do :)

Ultimately it is personal opinion but consider this . . . . . . I finished college and after gaining some experience observing a physiotherapy in mental health I decided that it wasn't for me so chose to follow sports therapy starting the course in Sep 2005. At this point the Society of Sports Therapy stated they were in the process of getting HPC approval (which they still do not have). Sports Therapy incorporates a lot of musculoskeletal assessment, treatment and management techniques used in physiotherapy although perhaps at times related more to sports. I have to say the most valuable thing I obtained from sports therapy degree was completing a sports massage course. however you could do this course as a physio. Approaching the the end of my second year and not having touched any real patients, I started to lose confidence in sports therapy and even though I obtained a First class honours degree I realised I was heading towards a career as a gym instructor so I applyed for a MSc in Physiotherapy (which i am now in the final 6 months). During the period after completing my sports therapy degree I spent six months applying and searching for jobs everyday and in that period had only three interviews. Being quite proactive a I applyed to companies that were not advertising and to be honest people were unaware of what a sports therapist was and due to it's lack of creditability, they were reluctant to even consider hiring me. This is all my personal experience and may be completely different for other people, but I feel that physiotherapy has completely broadened my options as there are so many different interesting areas to work in.