Don't let Resolutions get you down

I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s Resolutions. Most people make themselves ridiculous goals that they have no chance of keeping like never eating chocolate or to stop drinking alcohol entirely. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the Resolution Mayhem and not actually sit and think about what goals you would like to achieve in the next year.

I like to break my goals down into sections: professional, personal and running. Obviously, my professional goals include things I want to learn in the upcoming year, clinic ideas and marketing of the clinic. Personal goals include things I want to learn independently, books I want to read and travel goals. The running goals I keep separate as I see them as different challenges. It may be a desired distance, race or number of races I want to complete in the next year.

Breaking your goals down into sections is a good way to start without overwhelming yourself. Also, write them down or put them in a spread sheet, this is a good way to chart what you need to do to meet your goals. For instance, I try to read a specific number of journal articles in a year for my professional goals. So, I keep a list in my spreadsheet of which one I read and what knowledge I obtained from it. I also like to list my book list for personal goals and check them off once read, truthfully, I do the same with my race list for running.

Once you’ve sectioned off your goals, you can break them down further. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight first, decide how much you may need to lose (you should see your GP for an idea of your ideal weight, don’t just guess it as it may be too low). Once you know what you need to lose break it down by week or month. Then make your exercise plan, a personal trainer will be able to help you with this part as it is often difficult to decide what exercises to do when. Plus, we often choose not to put the things we really don’t like on the list. Once you have your exercise plan, think about your diet. What can you eat less of? What should you eat more of? If you’re a chocoholic like myself, it is hard to give it up, however, you can decide to eat less of it or eat dark chocolate in small doses. If you’re not sure of what you need to eat find a good nutritionist either in person or online and they can help you plan and determine what you need to eat based on your activity level and goals.

By putting your small goals into a checklist of the bigger goal you can see your results much easier. This may be in the form of a spreadsheet or an app on your phone. Either way it is important to track your progress and don’t be disheartened if you have a bad week occasionally, just get yourself back on track as soon as you can. This is especially important for anyone who has had a sports injury, nothing is worse than the setback, however if you get appropriate rehab and advice you can be back in a healthier state.

So, if you have already set your goals or if you’re not sure just remember to break them down and track them. If you have any questions about sports injuries or rehabilitation, please email me: sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk

Who do I see, a graduate Sports Therapist or a Sports Massage Therapist?

Often as a graduate sports therapist I get mistaken for being a Sports Massage Therapist. It’s a tad frustrating as having completed a three-year BSc it’s safe to say I’ve had a significant more amount of educational and in-clinic training than a Sports Massage Therapist/Soft Tissue Therapist.

So, what’s the difference?

Sports Massage Therapist/Soft Tissue Therapist:

A Sports Massage/Soft Tissue Therapists will have the scientific knowledge of and manual therapy skills to address specific of soft tissue injuries, their function, and the result of manual therapy on injured and uninjured tissues. They will have experience in anatomy, principles of health & fitness, principles of soft tissue dysfunction, sports massage treatment

Sports Massage is a Level 3 course focusing on injury prevention and performance enhancement through manipulation of the muscles, ligaments and fascia (debatable – will blog about next year).

Most high-quality Sports massage courses will be ITEC/BTEC/VTEC Level. Many Sport Massage/Soft Tissue Therapists are registered with the Sports Massage Association of as part of the Complimentary and Natural Healthcare Council. However, there are other bodies they can be members of, and there is no statutory requirement.

It is also important for the therapist to have attended a course approved by a professional body above, as there are many "fast track" courses out there which are not always providing quality courses.

Here is a brief summary of ITEC/BTEC/VTEC Levels:

3: Sports Massage Therapist - qualified to work on non-injured tissue.
4: Sports Massage Therapist - qualified to work on injured tissue
5: Sports Therapist/Massage Therapist - qualified to work on injured tissue, recognise sports injuries and prescribe rehabilitation exercises
6: Sports Therapist (can be diploma or graduate) - qualified to do all the above and diagnose soft tissue injuries using clinical reasoning.

Graduate Sports Therapist:

First, the title of sports therapist is not a protected title, so you’ll find most of us who are graduates us the term “graduate sports therapist” or put our degree qualifications on all our paperwork.

I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of who is better a  diploma or a graduate sports therapist as it depends on the practitioner not the qualification.

Diploma level 5 sports therapists often do courses on the weekend with coursework and exams during the course process and graduates spend 3 years developing the required skills while being assessed throughout.

A graduate Sports Therapist will have an undergraduate diploma and would have completed a course verified by one of the sports therapist professional bodies: Sports Therapy Association, Society of Sports Therapists or the Sports Therapist Organisation. There is no statutory requirement for regulation, but it’s best to find someone who is registered with one of these professional bodies to ensure they are practising at the correct level and attending CPD courses.

Graduate Sport Therapists focus on the assessment, diagnosis and rehabilitation of soft tissue injuries. While courses may vary, a graduate Sport Therapist will have courses in anatomy, ethics, biomechanics & gait assessment, fitness testing, injury prevention, sports massage, clinical assessment and decision making, advanced manual therapy, sports nutrition and first aid/sports trauma skills.

Both professions are helpful for people who participate in sport and need to have appropriate insurance for their profession. Both can provide sports massage for recovery, but only Level 6/Graduate Sport Therapists can assess and diagnose injuries using clinical reasoning, and Level 5's can recognise sports injuries and prescribe appropriate rehabilitation exercises. This becomes very important if you have an injury as Level 3 Sports Massage/Soft Tissue Therapists should not be working with injured tissue, diagnosing injuries or prescribing exercises.

Sadly, many CPD providers are teaching techniques which are beyond the remit of lower level qualifications. This can cause problems for the therapist as they will likely not be insured for those techniques, and therefore, should not be using them in their practice or advertising them on their website.

It is important to know the qualifications of your therapist, if you're not sure just ask them. They are not always noted on their website and some therapists may be advertising abilities beyond their qualification level. If you're looking for a non-injury related sports massage a Level 3 will be suitable, however if you are having pain or are injured you should book in with a Graduate/Level 6 Sports Therapist for an assessment and rehab program. 

If you have any questions about sports massage and sports therapy, please do not hesitate to email me: sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk