Physiotherapy and Sports Therapy Differences

I regularly get asked this and it’s something that patients are often unsure about, even after having booked an appointment or having been referred by their GP. Let me explain this briefly.

Firstly, it is worth defining the term ‘musculoskeletal’. This is a term you will hear widely referred to in the medical and sporting worlds, and references, as you can probably guess, the skeletal system and the muscles involved with the structural function and movement of said bones. Musculoskeletal, or ‘MSK’ for short, encompasses not only just the consideration of bones and skeletal muscles but joints, their capsules, connectives tissues, including ligaments, tendons and fascia and, importantly, nerves. As a MSK clinician, this is what I specialise in – working with the MSK system and assisting the body in its natural propensity to heal and to restore function through exercise, manual therapy and suitable adjustments. Let’s look more now at MSK clinicians in my fields…

Physiotherapists are registered Allied Health Professionals who are regulated by the Health & Care Professions Council, and many Physiotherapists join the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, allowing us to use the title ‘Charted Physiotherapist’. Typically, as Physiotherapists, we are well-known for the provision of exercises to help support you with managing musculoskeletal pain and/or dysfunction. We see this as helping to restore your body back to a functional capacity and to help control your pain when owing to stiff joints or weak/damaged muscles, for example. This is closely combined with advice & education on the best management of your complaint, along with recommending adjustments to make in your daily life and occupation. These approaches are often blended with manual therapy (e.g. joint mobilisations & soft tissue massage) to help maximise your positive outcome. That being said, Physiotherapy is to varying degrees medically-minded, understanding not just the musculoskeletal system, but the wider physiological systems that make up the human body and how these can relate to your overall health. Regularly, we communicate with GPs and other relevant health professionals to maximise patient care or when a certain issue or facet of that physical complaint is outside our scope of practice.

Regarding Sports Therapy, there are many similarities to Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, with a significant amount of cross-over. In fact, several of my lecturers during my undergraduate degree were Physiotherapists. Sports Therapy, as the name suggests, is generally more sports & activity-focused in its approach, using a strength & conditioning approach to maximise recovery in both athletic and non-athletic populations (do not let the name deceive you into thinking we only work with sports people). There is often a greater emphasis on manual therapy, especially with sports massage commonly featuring heavily within training curriculums. Sports Therapy is carried out by practitioners who either attend University degree programs, like myself, or by clinicians who go the non-academic route. Currently, Sports Therapy is not regulated by a central body, but most of us are members of governing organisations who do a fantastic job representing our interests to stakeholders and the wider public with whom we work. I have been a proud member of the Sports Therapy Association for many years and continue to remain a member, even though I am now a regulated Physiotherapist, as I believe it is important to support Sports Therapy and highlight the parity between the two professions.

Ultimately, these two very similar approaches compliment each other very well, and I continue to blend both approaches within my work. Please bear in mind there are Osteopaths, Chiropractors and more out there as well, all who offer a variety of treatment approaches to supporting patients with managing their condition. I am always happy discussing what I can offer you through my breadth of training & scope of practice, so please do ask if you want to know what I can offer you!