Sports Physiotherapy
in Australia

Unlike a decade ago, there are many opportunities for post-graduate study in Sports Physiotherapy today. There are far more graduate programs available and courses may vary greatly in structure and focus. These programs provide a flexible and accessible mode of graduate education for physiotherapists with a wide variety of clinical speciality interests.

So, given all these options, how should you choose a course? Perhaps the first decision you should make is why you want to study. There are many reasons why physiotherapists choose to undertake post-graduate studies. Many will say that they feel a personal need for further knowledge acquisition in their particular field of practice. Others say they have a particular clinical question they want to investigate and some say they believe that a post-graduate qualification is necessary in order to secure employment or to achieve the promotion they seek.

If you see yourself primarily as a clinician, then course work Masters and Postgraduate Diploma programs are probably the most relevant. As well as theoretical and practical units, which improve your knowledge base in your chosen discipline, these degree/diplomas usually include units in research methods and opportunities for project work.

Master of Sports Physiotherapy

With the advent of the Olympic Games steering us near to our new millennium, physiotherapists need the competitive edge in injury management and performance enhancement when treating the elite athlete. Physiotherapy schools, such as Curtin University, School of Physiotherapy, may offer the Master of Sports Physiotherapy, embracing the latest scientific evidence-based clinical practice, the most update assessment, treatment and rehabilitation in athletic injury prevention, upper limb, lower quadrant and spinal injuries.

Programs usually have a well balanced structure to give students a good knowledge of clinical practice, assessment and treatment. As an example, the Master of Sports Physiotherapy at Curtin University is split into supervised clinical practice and clinical advanced level of assessment and treatment in sports manual therapy.

During the supervised clinical practice section of the program, students are supervised by experienced clinicians, all of whom have postgraduate qualifications in Sports Physiotherapy. There are five different clinical placements which are located at sports injury clinics and teaching hospitals. Students are personally supervised in their assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of sports injury problems. At the end of each 4 week clinical block, students are assessed and given detailed feedback.

The clinical advanced level of assessment and treatment in sports and manual therapy begins by covering a diverse range of manual therapy approaches that are used for spinal and peripheral joints such as the foot, ankle, knee and shoulder. Later the course looks at the vertebral spine including the cervical, thoracic, lumbar spine, ribs and sacroiliac joints. In both areas, mobilisation and manipulation techniques are taught.

Other aspects of sports physiotherapy covered might include muscle imbalance, deep dynamic myofascial techniques, trigger points, soft tissue and sports massage, sports taping and therapeutic taping techniques, stretching and exercise regimens. At Curtin, there is also the opportunity to attend surgery related to sports problems which expands students' appreciation of the clinical implications in devising specific treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Employment Opportunities

Currently there is a demand for postgraduate trained Sports Physiotherapists and students that have taken courses that have a holistic musculoskeletal approach to work in diverse areas of clinical practice. For example, many graduates of Curtin University's school of Physiotherapy hold key positions in Sports Medicine/Physiotherapy both overseas, interstate and locally, and have represented their countries at world championships and the Olympic Games.

When it comes to making your final decision on where to study, there is no substitute for information. Write, email, fax or call the relevant institutions and ask for information. Find out which courses are available, when they start, how long they take, how many contact hours are required, and whether both part-time and full-time courses are available. Don't forget to ask about costs - the courses cost money, so be prepared. Talk to colleagues who have done or are doing the course and find out how much work is involved and whether the pain is worth the gain. It is worth remembering that all post-graduate courses require a commitment, and in order to actually complete the course, and enjoy it in the process, you may need to reduce your hours of paid employment.

With thanks to

Curtin University, School of Physiotherapy
The Australian Physiotherapy Association