Managing sport injuries

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/13/2014 - 09:02

In recent times, physiotherapy has gained traction among students, as a career, and is one of the most sought after courses in colleges. One section of people who are most in need of physiotherapy are sportspersons. With sporting leagues modelled on the successful Indian Premier League mushrooming in the country, the need for good physiotherapists specialised in treating sports persons and sporting injuries has increased.

Sheffield Hallam University, U.K., is offering an M.Sc. programme in Advancing Physiotherapic Practices with specialisation in sport-injury management.

According to Dr. Kate Grafton, Deputy head of the Allied Health Department, Sheffield Hallam University, the course allows students to look at and study the academic side of sport-injury management that can ensure that the treatment they give is most up-to-date and evidence-based.

Dr. Grafton says, “We also integrate a practical component. Students can see academics treating patients and engage with sports clubs and see how sports physio management is conducted in the U.K.”

According to Dr. Grafton, while SHU is one largest physiotherapy providers, it is also one of the largest sports education providers. The course, she says, is able to link with different fields like sports science, sports psychology. “Injury is only part of it. At the elite level of sports there is need to go deep and understand why an injury happened, the rehabilitation and the cause of injury and to explore and see if there is need for a different training process,” she says.

The course is 18 months long and spread over six-to-seven modules. Dr. Grafton says, “Some modules look at clinical reasoning and at the evidence and critically evaluate the evidence and apply it to different contexts.”

There is also a module called optimising clinical effectiveness to help students face the challenge of applying what they learn to an Indian context. Dr. Grafton cites the example of how Indians prefer being treated, while in West the process is more facilitatory. She says the course will help students face challenges like these.

The course will also have 20-30 hours of clinical exposure as part of the module where they go out with the tutors to real-time environment and observe and learn.

To apply for this course, students must be qualified as physiotherapists by the recognised body — Indian Association of Physiotherapy. Students who have just graduated can apply, too, though work experience is preferred. Students need to have an IELTS score of 6.5.

Apart from job opportunities with sports teams and clubs, the course trains students in basic skills that are transferable and can be applied in a general health care setting.

The University offers £1000 discount on the tuition fee for students who meet the English-level entry criteria. There are transform scholarships which are full-fee scholarships, though the competition is very high for these. The course fee is approximately around £12,000.