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.