Focus on Sports Therapists and students considering Sports Therapy: Professor Graham Smith

The Society of Sports Therapists was established in the UK in 1990 to address the growing demands from sport and leisure on everyone involved in the management and care of injured participants. Professor Graham Smith, Chairman of the Society of Sports Therapists, discusses the past, present, and future of sports therapy. The first two minutes cover the rationale for this health care profession. 3:00m - you can hear what a student learns through the 3 years of the course. 4:20m - The Master’s in Sports Therapy (with eligibility for membership) – the course for folks who already have a sports science degree and want to become clinicians. 5:50m - Final year student perspective - “students are the future of the profession” - useful tips for deciding whether sports therapy is for you or not. 9:00m - A discussion of the roles that sports therapists are filling in a wide range of sports settings. “82% of the members are self-employed” - clearly sports therapists are well suited to work in the large sports club setting or in smaller clubs. In the second half of the podcast Professor Smith also highlights hot topics such as: (i) the interaction with physiotherapists “to complement physiotherapy and to protect the people who play sport and exercise”, (ii) the 2016 scientific meeting “From Pain to Performance” (May 14th, 2016) featuring the great US knee surgeon Don Shelbourne, and (iii) the Society being a partner with BJSM: “We are pleased to be part of a global sports medicine community and appreciated as such”. Links: Home page for the Society of Sport Therapists http://www.society-of-sports-therapists.org/index.php/public_information/what-is-sports-therapy Where to study Sports Therapy (BSc Hons) http://www.society-of-sports-therapists.org/index.php/public/degree_courses_BSc Where to study Sports Therapy if you already have a relevant degree (MSc) http://www.society-of-sports-therapists.org/index.php/public/degree_courses_MSc