Sport and Exercise Therapy

Sport and exercise therapy is a healthcare profession concerned with the prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions, working with everyone from recreational exercisers and recreational athletes to elite sports performers and patients recovering from injury or surgery. It combines knowledge of anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and clinical assessment with practical therapeutic skills in manual therapy, exercise rehabilitation, taping and strapping, and the design of recovery programmes. The profession operates within both the sports medicine environment and, increasingly, healthcare settings where the benefits of exercise for recovery and health are recognised.

At Southampton Solent University, this three-year full-time programme is accredited, which provides assurance of the quality and professional relevance of the training you receive. The degree includes a foundation year, making it accessible to students who are developing the science and clinical knowledge foundations needed for degree-level study in this field, and it also includes a sandwich year and work placement. The current description highlights placements with the NHS and elite sports teams as features of the programme, giving you hands-on clinical and sporting experience that is central to your professional development.

You will learn to work with patients and athletes at different stages of recovery and preparation, developing the assessment skills to identify the nature and severity of musculoskeletal problems and the therapeutic skills to address them.

The accredited status of the programme is important for those who wish to register with the Society of Sports Therapists or the British Association of Sport Rehabilitators and Trainers (BASRaT), both of which recognise accredited degree programmes for membership.

Graduates from sport and exercise therapy programmes work with professional sports clubs and national sports organisations, in NHS and private physiotherapy and rehabilitation settings, in fitness and wellness organisations, and in education. Postgraduate study in sport rehabilitation, physiotherapy, or sports medicine supports those seeking clinical specialisation or academic research careers.