sports therapy or massage

[A person you dont know]

Please would someone explain the difference between sports therapy and sports massage. Which is the better course level 4/5 sports therapy at Active Health Group or Sports massage at LSSM? I would have thought Mel Cash should know his stuff and wouldn't be involved in something that would not later be acredited as a profession if new regulations come into force. I am totally confused so I really hope someone out there is in the know. Please help. Also does anyone have a phone number for LSSM? Thanks.

 

[I Like Turtles]

hi greengrass,
I have only done the Active course, level 5 sports therapy (decided not to do level 4 sports massage for reasons i will go into), so cant comment on the LSSM course.

Sports Therapy is the industry that has been approved for state regulation by the Health Professions Council, not Sports Massage, that is why I decided against sports massage, as it will limit me in the future.

Obviously going on levels, level 4 is equivalent to a HNC, and level 5 is equivalent of HND/Foundation degree, so level 5 is higher.

I dont know any reasons, but Mel Cash/LSSM is no longer with the Sports Massage Association, which is strange, as they seem to be the lead body for sports massage, instead they seem to have set up another 'organisation'. I dont personally think it will do the sports massage industry any good, as they seem to be fractionated.

Active's courses are validated by both the Society of Sports Therapists and Sports Therapy Organisation.

Personally, I would say do the Sports Therapy course as it will give you tons more scope to practice not only now, but in the future too.

 

[Hannah Tapparo]

just to add, there are over 3,000 people each year training to be sports masseurs, mostly on not so good courses (mainly level 3), which I feel is ruining the industry, compared to approx 500 per year who train as sports therapists at either level 5 or above (degree)

 

[flowersinthewind]

You will find Mel Cash’s contact details on [link=http://www.lssm.com/]www.lssm.com[/link]

re the difference between ‘sports therapy’ and sports massage, I’m not sure whether you’ve read the earlier thread ‘course decisions’, where I commented:



I think that there are very few (if any) people who have actually done both AHG and LSSM courses. I’d suggest that the decision whether to opt for AHG or LSSM may be partly geographical. I believe that AHG has stopped doing courses in Guildford and now only offers courses in Manchester. By contrast, LSSM only provides courses in London (although other ISRM colleges offer similar courses elsewhere in the country).

There has been a lot of correspondence on previous threads about Mel Cash’s decision to resign from SMA and set up ISRM. Mel’s view is that the SMA has set its standards too low. He wrote in a recent ISRM newsletter:



Mel has reverted to using the title ‘remedial massage’. Specifically, Mel was very critical of the fact that the SMA has not insisted on STR and MET being part of its core curriculum (apparently because some influential people within the SMA regarded STR and MET as physiotherapy techniques rather than massage techniques). Not all LSSM graduates agree with Mel, and at the time of writing half of the SMA board are LSSM graduates.

Alan

 

[emosrule]

I agree with Alan d's comments 99% but would add that I work in2 "small clinics" and think that the added skills of the sports therapist, using joint assessment, exercise rehab, and sports specific training programmes, fitness testing etcgive me an edge over other local remedial therapists.1 clinic is within the gym environment where I mainly see younger sporty type people. 2nd clinic is in semi rural location and I see everyone from the local postman, thruogh the spectrum to local older people with age restrictive conditions.
Incidently I started as a sports/remedial massage therapist, but further trained to be sports therapist because I felt there was more I couls and should be able to offer my clients.
I now specialise in exercise prescription, postural assessments and re-education.
Best regards for your chosen course,
Gaz