MSc Sports Therapy

Why study this subject?

Sports Therapy is a rapidly developing area of healthcare, with the public and sporting population becoming increasingly more aware of the requirements to care for their bodies from a health and exercise perspective. This means that there is also a higher risk of injury. Studying this course will provide you with opportunities to join the profession and work with elite athletes, in the NHS, or as part of your own Sports Therapy business.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

This course is fully accredited by the professional body for Sports Therapy - ‘The Society of Sports Therapists’. As a student of Bucks, you will have student membership of The Society of Sports Therapists, paid for by the University. This brings added benefits to the study of your course, including access to the student members’ area of the website and free access to the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Following graduation, you will be eligible for professional registration with The Society of Sports Therapists and for insurance to practice.

Sports Therapy placements are the backbone of this course. The course team recognise that it is not only what you know but also what and where you have work experience that will enhance your employment. Because of this, we have developed many partnerships with placements available in a variety of elite, professional and semi-professional sports teams (including but not limited to: Watford FC, Wycombe Wanderers FC, England Handball, Wasps RFC) as well as in hospital and more traditional clinic settings (Wycombe Hospital, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Halsa Clinic) as well as working within the university’s own Sports & Wellbeing Clinic.

Current students on our Sports Therapy programmes record their placement hours on a google based ePortfolio and many have over 350 hours. This is an ideal start to their careers in this exciting profession.

What facilities can I use? 

When 3rd year students, have passed all required assessment and treatment elements they have the opportunity to perform injury assessments and treatments under the supervision of staff at the University’s Sports and Wellbeing Clinic. The clinic is open to members of the public providing a friendly, high quality treatment, and is conveniently located in the centre of High Wycombe with allocated parking available.

What will I study?

The course will cover the five pillars of competency: prevention; recognition and evaluation; management, treatment, and referral; rehabilitation; and education and professional practice issues. The course is designed around these pillars and in accordance with the educational competencies of a Sports Therapist as set by The Society of Sports Therapists. The degree will take you through the ability to deal with an injury from the point of trauma (including a trauma management qualification) to assessment and diagnosis, followed by development of a full therapeutic treatment and exercise rehabilitation plan to return the patient back to their previous level of sport or exercise.

This course will help you:

• Gain the skills, knowledge and attributes needed to practice as a Sports Therapist.
• Develop a critical understanding, evaluation and synthesis of the concepts, theories, principles and practices of Sports Therapy.
• Enhance your technical, supervisory and management skills, with sports therapy milieu.

You will develop the skills and knowledge required to cope with musculoskeletal injuries from the point of injury to a full recovery and return to the level of sport or exercise previously completed. This course will equip graduates with the therapeutic knowledge and skills to train and become a fully qualified Sports Therapist, working in the ever-expanding healthcare sector.

How will I be taught and assessed?

A range of specific learning and teaching methods will be utilised throughout the course, including:

• Seminars
• Lectures
• Practical/laboratory sessions
• Visits to or from industry partners
• ‘Working with a client’ projects
• Tutorials
• Workshops

You will be assessed through a variety of formative and summative assessments, including presentations, reports, practice document and work related assessments, oral and practical examinations, reflective essays, case studies, and portfolio production. You will also be required to a minimum of 200 recorded hands-on supervised clinical practice hours during the course.