Sports and Exercise Therapy BSc (Hons)

Gain an understanding of the importance of human anatomical and physiological systems for sport and exercise. Learn about the structure of core systems, including:

• Nervous
• Musculoskeletal
• Cardiovascular
• Respiratory

You will explore how these function at rest and in response to exercise. Develop the necessary skills to correctly perform a range of physiological measures that can be used to evaluate an individual's health status and physiological responses to exercise.

Sports Therapy is an aspect of healthcare that is concerned with reducing the risk of injury, and the rehabilitation of the athlete back to optimum levels of functional, occupational and sports specific fitness, regardless of age and ability. In this introductory module, you will learn about the profession of sport and exercise injury. You will also learn introductory practical skills for the safe and competent delivery of therapeutic practices. This module focuses on developing knowledge and understanding, practical application, and being evidence informed.

To effectively prevent, assess, treat and rehabilitate musculoskeletal (MSK) pathologies, understanding MSK anatomy is essential. Practical MSK anatomy underpins sport and exercise therapy decision making and practice, and allows Sports Therapists to work with diverse athlete groups. On this module you will learn to identify, palpate, and move key musculoskeletal anatomical structures.

On this module you will learn the fundamental mechanics that underpin all aspects of human movement for performance and health. You will take a multidisciplinary approach, which will provide a vital foundation for the many perspectives covered throughout this course. We will introduce you to essential concepts of research, scientific enquiry and academia.

This module will help to prepare you for the in depth research you will carry out later in your degree. We will introduce you to a broad range of fundamental concepts and principles which guide research in the field of sport. We will also teach you to recognise and interpret these fundamental concepts when you encounter them in published research. You will learn the analytical skills to make sense of findings reported in published research, and answer basic research questions in sport. Through this you will become an informed reader able to evaluate and interpret research evidence.

On this module we will introduce you to the fundamental concepts of strength and conditioning, within a Sports Therapy context. Developing athletic capacity is crucial to reducing injury risk, but also to maximising sports performance in athletes. You will learn field and gym-based techniques and associated coaching cues to develop aerobic and anaerobic performance for multiple sports. You will also learn how to develop principles of training and integrate these into a structured training programme over a prolonged period.

Participation in sport and exercise carries an inherent risk of trauma and illness. Being able to effectively manage trauma and illness in recreational, training, occupational and competitive sport and exercise environments is one of the fundamental roles of a Sports Therapist. On this module you will learn about:

• Systematic action planning for the eventuality of trauma and illness
• Recognition and treatment for life-threatening and non-life-threatening trauma and illness
• The correct handover or referral pathways following sport and exercise trauma and illness
• Management of conditions such as suspected spinal injury, head trauma, fractures and dislocations

On this module you will learn about the importance of physical activity and exercise initiatives for the general health of the community. This will be presented with a multi-disciplinary focus, evaluating public health interventions and approaches from sociology, policy, psychology, therapeutic, and behavioural perspectives. You will explore the psychosocial impact of exercise and lifestyle behaviours for the promotion of healthy living and wellbeing, as well as considering UK and global health issues surrounding physical activity.

On this module you will develop practical and professional skills in effectively assessing sports specific injuries or illness, which is a foundational skill of a sport and exercise therapy. You will learn to conduct a subjective and objective assessment of sports specific, joint and regional injuries, as well as considering how this information can inform clinical reasoning around management, treatment, and potential referral.

One thing that makes sports therapy different to other clinical therapies is that they need to prepare athletes for high-level sporting actions rather than just activities of daily living. On this module you will learn to use the demands of sports to inform return to play decision making, taking a performance-based approach to return to sport (RtS). You will take a systematic, and athlete-centred approach, using criterion measures relevant to the sport, and monitored to prevent re-injury or setbacks. This will prepare you to work with both individuals and groups of athletes. You will learn to prescribe, coach, and evaluate appropriate exercises for rehabilitation.

Once a sports therapist has recognised and evaluated an injury, they then need to be able to effectively plan, treat and help manage it. On this module you will develop practical and professional skills in treatment planning, delivery of manual therapy skills, and the broader management of sport and exercise injury to the peripheral joints. You will learn about:

• Anatomical theory
• Treatment planning, informed consent, and outcome measures
• Peripheral joint mobilisations for lower and upper limbs
• Sports massage to injured tissue
• Self-management strategies
• Common surgical intervention on peripheral joints

Advance your skills in both research methods and research design. This will enable you to move beyond being an informed consumer, to becoming an informed critical thinker. You will learn how to produce quality research using a range of quantitative and qualitative research designs commonly employed in sport research.

This is an opportunity to experience professional practice, helping you apply the theoretical knowledge you have learned to real situations. Experiencing the day-to-day practice of a Sports Therapist will help you make decisions about your career, and to understand the professional standards required of the role. You will have the chance to participate in sport and exercise therapy practice, supervised by experienced professionals. We will help you to find a work-based placement with academic staff aligned to your career objectives and professional development. Through this placement you will develop confidence and problem solving skills, as well as building your professional network.

Engage in all aspects of the research process to answer a specific question in a topic related to your interests. Under the guidance of an academic supervisor, you will revise, refine, extend or reconstitute a research proposal submitted for the Research Design and Analysis in Sport and Exercise module. Manage a proposed research project through the ethical approval process, carry out the proposed research and present it in the form of a research paper. 

On this module you will learn to adopt a holistic approach to reducing injury risk. We will outline the systematic process that you should follow to identity and prioritise injury prevention strategies, informed by contemporary research. Initially you will appraise athlete competency by considering their sporting demands, before action planning to reduce injury risk. We will also introduce you to a range of evidence informed techniques and concepts that reduce the incidence of injury, such as load management, accelerated recovery and neuromuscular training protocols. You will be encouraged to take a critical approach when evaluating the effectiveness of each intervention, to help build your clinical reasoning and decision-making skills in preparation for practice.

The incidence and prevalence of back pain in sporting and non-sporting populations is high, and as a sports therapist it is likely that you will have to work with athletes with back pain during your careers. This module focuses on manual therapy and management of vertebral pain and pathology. You will develop practical and professional skills in assessment, treatment planning, delivery of manual therapy skills, and the broader management of sport and exercise injury to the vertebrae.

An athlete should return to sport when they are physically, biologically, psychologically, and technically ready. In comparison to physical and biological readiness, technical readiness is understudied and under practised. This module focuses on evaluating technical sport and exercise movements to aid return to sport decision making. You will learn about the causes of altered movement due to injury, the technical modelling of common sports movements, and some of the interventions and assistive devices available to manage movement.

Sports therapists work with complex individuals that exist in complex social spaces. As such, contemporary practice often involves making decisions on evolving and complex problems. This module is framed around such problems, and considers how sports therapists can best manage complexity in their practice. This will prepare you to work as a modern clinic-based, sport-based or health service-based sports therapist. This module will also address some of the key business skills, such as marketing and data management, that are essential for success in the industry.

This is your second opportunity to experience professional practice, and apply the theoretical knowledge you have gained throughout your degree. We will encourage you to find a different work-based placement to the one you carried out in your second year, as you further extend your skills and professional development. We expect you to challenge yourself by taking on appropriate responsibility to develop confidence, problem solving skills and competency.