Sports medicine and sports therapy are very similarly rewarding fields. They require a lot of education, certification, experience, and patience to be successful, however. A person can take up a career out of many if they are in this field of study and are not limited to just a few. This field can be divided into three separate categories: prevention of injuries to athletes, the treatment of injuries when they occur (sports medicine), and quick and efficient recover from injuries (sports therapy). Each of these categories has several areas of specialty that a trained physician can get into; listed below are just a few of the many:

Physiologists in sports medicine and sports therapy:

The purpose of physiologists are to promote the benefits of proper sports therapy with exercise routines for athletes and sports teams, from a group to an individual basis. Exercise routines may be designed by physiologists and implemented into athletes’ daily lives. Also, if an athlete has a serious health concern or disorder, routines are usually specifically designed to meet their needs. Physiologists also use equipment to evaluate and monitor the health of patients before designing the program and while exercise routines take place. They also demonstrate the proper techniques for taking advantage of the sports therapy so that injury does not occur. In order to become a physiologist, one must have excellent communication and people skills, aside from just knowledge of sports medicine, and it requires the ability to inspire and create motivation.

Trainers in sports medicine and sports therapy:

The goal of trainers is to evaluate injuries that athletes have gotten, treat those injuries through sports therapy, and help facilitate the long process of rehabilitation. Trainers are also responsible in sports medicine to prevent the injuries from occurring again by giving exercise routines to athletes and giving braces and bandages to them as well. In sports medicine, the trainers are usually the ones that are on the field first when an injury occurs to an athlete. Trainers are usually also responsible for creating a budget for sports therapy on a sports team or individual athlete and implementing policies to enforce guidelines.

Therapists in sports medicine and sports therapy:

A therapist’s goal in sports medicine and sports therapy is to observe athletes, examine their health, and tend to an athlete’s concern if necessary. Their duty is to relieve pain they may be experiencing on the field, improve their flexibility, and improve their overall quality of life. Usually in sports medicine, a therapist will create a specific regiment for a specific athlete on a team.

Assistants in sports medicine and sports therapy:

It is the assistant’s job to monitor progress of patients with specific data recorded. They then evaluate this data to report whether or not an athlete is recovering properly. They also provide extra care to patients in sports therapy. An example of their duties would be to give a massage or provide an athlete with a hot or cold pack to relieve pain and swelling.