Sports Massage or Physiotherapy

[CharlzAnthony]

Hey guys,

Im hopefully doingan access course in september so I can do a BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapybut I was talking to a massagetherapist about Courses and she said that Massage Course's are going to be increasing there levels so its not just a Diploma but a Degree as well. I'd only want to do a Massage Courseif it's higher than a diploma ideally.

Basically..I've been trained as a Dancer andbeen invlolved in sports sinceI waslittle,and have been recentlyinvolved with gymnastics. The thing is, now I want to go into Physiothearpy and Massage theraphy.

Im 19 at the moment - so im still young but the things is my mums getting old now and if i do my access course, a Physiotheaphy Course and a Massage Course it'll be around 5years ish till i finally graduate right?! My mum'll be 62 and by the time i find some decent work that pays well (so i can fend for myself) it'd be around 2years so my mum will be 64 - thats a bit of a liberty really as she goes on the pension at 60.

So all i want to know is..does anyone know if i can do both a BSc (hons)Physiotherapy course and a Massage Therapy Course (Degree) at the same time? or at the same Uni? What Course would you suggest more, I want be able to say to people, "okay, your alignment in your hip isn't right, if you do these exercise regularly then you should see improvement" but i then want to say, "what we'll do is if we massage the area around it then it should loosen the muscle and you should see better mobility around the joint." Kinda Like Gary Lewin, Physiotherapist for ArsenalFCand England.

Help?!
Cheers Guys,
Charlie.

[sportstherapy]

Hi Charlie,
are you talking about the sports therapy degree? as there is nomassage degree, although there is a complementary therapy degree.

[Gussie]

Personally, if you're going down the professional route with it and have the time to commit to physiotherapy - do it. It's already gone through all the accreditation and formalisation it needs, whilst massage is still working out how it will be regulated. You can always do other massage courses afterwards if you have an interest. Doing two degrees would be very hard work! Really wouldn't advise anyone to do it. Regarding combined honours, I'm honestly not sure. If you have a look at the UCAS prospectus or talk to your local colleges they may be able to help you find one.

[CharlzAnthony]

Thanks, It's really helped me. Im not too sure whether it'd be the Massage or Sports Massage Therapy or even Tai massagetherapy? Any Suggestions on what would be better for mainly dancers but also general massage..?Mainly to do with pre and post injuries.

Okay so Its mainlyphysiotherapy then. There are so many Course in London that I Dont know what one to do..I was thinking of the London South Bank Uni.But thats a Four-Year Part Time. I dont want just a BSc(Hons) inPhysiothearpy, I'd want like acertificate saying thatI've been trained as a Charted Physiotherapy - is that even possible?

So there are no Sports Massage/Tai Massage Courses in which i can obtain a Degree in as of yet? What would be the highest qualification now then, for a Sports Massage or Tai Massage?

Thanks Again,
Charlie

[sparkly_stars]

Hi Charlie

Someone was talking about something very similar in another thread only the other day - why not type sports massage into the search boc in HP and see what comes up. The thread was also about courses and they did mention one that seemed ver comprehensive.

[sportstherapy]

Physiotherapy is either 3 years full time or 4/5 years part time. When you graduate you register with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, which entitles you to use the abbrev MCSP, to show people that you are a chartered physio, you also have to register with the Health Professions Council.

The highest level qual in sports massage is level 4 (degree level being level 6). Thai massage would be level 3.

[philthy]

If I had the energy & time to complete another degree I would be very tempted to look at the University of Westminster who offer a whole range of degrees based on Therapy, Massage etc. I spoke to the admissions guys last year & they seem to build the degree round a series of various therapies. The thing that impressed me was how diverse it was & therefore how much opportunity& inspiration it could give you.
Could be worth a quick look.

[biggazfromlincoln]

Hi Charlie,
before you commit to physiotherapy, consider that at present over 70% of last years(05) graduautes do not have jobs, 92%(06) graduates dont have jobs and on average at my local hospital there are over 200 applicants for each post available. I have heard that the local trust is asking recent graduates to do voluntary work to give them experience. My senior physio is very disappointed with the industry at present as his students on placement are suffering with extremely low moral. The local co-op emloys a physio to stack shelves on £5.10 per hour. She hs no experience for private practice and has applied to over 100 posts without even a reply.
Have you considered a level 5 sports therapy intensive course, equiv to higher nat diploma or foundation degree. At least you would b e earning and working in the industry
regards
Gaz

[ju79]

Hi there...im a student at westminster...(studying acupuncture)...as im a thai yoga practitioner i went to check out their Bsc Bodywork...i wasnt very impressed to be honest...it gave me the feeling that you do cover lots of interesting therapies but you dont go in depth with any of them...like you would have to do further studies to gain accreditations...i love the idea of physiotherapy but i didnt know that the job situation is soo bad...what i can tell you is about thai massage...unfortunately only with that you wont go that far...i love its manuality but it does have its limits on what conditions it can treat i believe (maybe because i dont have that much experience)...you could definetely studied it along a degree because courses tend to be one weekend per month with time to practise in between...hope this helps!