What does it take to become a sport's physical therapis...

[NReigh1]

This sounds like a career I would be interested in (I start college in August). I'm talking about a PT who specializes in athletes/active people, or maybe a nutritionist/trainer. Not like a aerobics instructor at the local gym, but like someone on a master's degree level. I know there must be a few of you on this message board, what kind of schooling, etc did it take? Does it pay well? What does the job entail?

Thanks!

 

[kathryn]

The first thing I'd do is check out NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine: www.nasm.org ), which has certification for similar professions. Much of the time, when shows on FitTV introduce an expert in the field, they have NASM certification.

 

[NY25]

It's a specific course you can pursue - usually requires a Master's Degree, however. Good luck!! (I wish I had thought of that when I was younger and had pursued it myself)

 

[lrhollid]

RE: What does it take to become a sport's physical ther...

I think an athletic trainer is a BS, but a PT is currently a MPT. However, many programs are switching to offer a DPT only, which is just an extra year than a MPT. I get the impression that the DPT might become the entry level degree, though.

If you're interested in either track, you might try observing PTs and ATs at your university.

Best of luck,
L

 

[NReigh1]

RE: What does it take to become a sport's physical ther...

Ok cool, thanks for the website, I'm going to check this out further and if I find anything good I'll post it on here, in case anyone else is interested

 

[cab0899]

RE: What does it take to become a sport's physical ther...

I'm an occupational therapist (OT) not a physical therapist (PT) but work very closely with the PT and our university program was a joint program. When I graduated it was a Bachelor of Medical Rehabilitation with a major in occupational or physiotherapy. Most of the programs are moving to a Master's Degree so it's usually a 5 year program. You can not train to be just a sports physio you are trained to see all diagnoses (cardiac, neuro, respiratory, musculoskeltal injuries etc.) Most of your training will be a hospital setting, sports physiotherapy is a very small area of practice. You will have to be trained in ICU care, post op care, etc, etc. After graduation from your masters program than you can training extra training to become more specialized in an area.

At our university, athletic therapists are trained through the physical education department and I believe it is still a bachelor's degree. When I have spoke with athletic therapists (AT) many of them wish they had done the medical rehabilitation program instead. AT for the most part are outside the medical "team" and paid a fair amount less. They are very specialized in their area but do not have the training do see people with medical issues outside musculoskeletal injuries so are limited to the type of patients they can treat and where they can work. Athletic therapists are not hired here by hospitals. Job opportunities are more difficult to find.

I am in Canada so my knowledge of the USA programs is limited but I do sit on our national board of occupational therapists which has regular meetings with the American associations.

Hope that helps! Kim

 

[NRGWoman]

I went back to school several years ago with the same intent. I wanted to be a PT who specialized in sports injuries. Locally we have the "Institue of Athletic Medicine" so I thought I was set. I was able to shadow a PT there and at several other PT sights to find out what their day was like. They told me that very few of there clients have sports injuries. The common major frustrations were that since they were regulated by HMO's they were told what exercises to give each person. It looked and felt like an assembly line in action. The jobs were relatively easy to come by and the pay was good, but the job satisfaction was very poor. BTW the training locally is a DPT.

What I ended up doing was getting a BS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise physiology. Then I got NASM certified which focuses on correcting any musculoskeletal imbalances. I typically work with people when their PT sessions covered by medical insurance run out. They usually have some improvement over the original condition from PT, but by no means are able to return to their previous level of activity. I take them from there back to (usually) full use of the injured area. Since I have complete freedom to do whatever I feel is best for the person I can get a lot of good results. Also when people come to me they are motivated and follow my instructions and do their homework.

As for the working conditions...I used to work at a health club and got fairly frustrated with that so now I work for myself. Getting new clients is somewhat difficult, but I have pretty good retention. As people are pleased with their results they will tell there friends so they do a lot of the marketing for you. I also teach group fitness to fill in some of the gaps. I mostly teach to older people who have a lot of chronic conditions. It is a very underserved market and once again very rewarding.

Good luck on your quest.