Sports therapy

Gain the specialist skills and knowledge required to work as a sports therapist.

Sports therapists help sport and exercise participants prevent, recognise and manage injuries; empowering everyone to achieve their full sporting potential. They respond immediately to injuries, can assess, treat and refer for specialist advice, give remedial sport massages and plan rehabilitation programmes.

At Essex, our sports therapy students work as a supervised sports therapist on placement, gaining real-life experience and confidence using the skills and knowledge taught to become an autonomous practitioner. 

In your first few weeks you complete a first aid qualification, and then go onto provide pitch-side first aid for all SU sport teams. In your second year, you can provide post-race massages and support at numerous sporting events such as the London Marathon and Ride London. And in your final year, you work in our Sports Therapy Clinic; assessing, treating and prescribing rehabilitation programmes to real clients.

Career opportunities range from working in a sports injury or clinic to working as a therapist for a sport clubs or sportsperson, both professional and amateur. Graduates are also eligible to register as a professional sports therapist with the Society of Sports Therapist. 

Make a difference to the lives of people.

In our multidisciplinary School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, we offer research supervision in all areas of staff expertise in sports therapy and related areas.

Our graduates go on to work with a wide spectrum of sporting populations from recreational athletes through to elite international performers in both clinical and management positions. Our graduates work in a large number of areas including professional and semi sporting organisations, private practice, local trusts, hospitals and care organisations.

Research study will allow you to work alongside internationally recognised academics by collaborating on campus, using facilities such as our Human Performance Unit and Sports Therapy Clinic. Our multidisciplinary approach also means that you will be able to work in the field with external partners and other departments.