What is Sport Rehabilitation?

What is a Sport Rehabilitator?

Hannah, our Sport Rehabilitator, is a healthcare professional who specialises in the assessment, diagnosis and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. She is able to help you; recover from or prevent injury, manage your pain, maintain and develop fitness, as well as preserving overall health and wellbeing.

Hannah studied Sport Rehabilitation for 3 years at the University of Salford, graduating with a First Class BSc (Hons) degree in July 2020. During this time she has gained in-depth knowledge on a variety of soft tissue injuries and conditions, along with techniques in exercise prescription and therapeutic intervention.

She has completed over 400 hours worth of placement experience in both clinical and sports settings, working with a variety of athletes of all ages, from grass route to elite level sport. Her experiences include working with; Philadelphia Phillies Baseball, Wigan Warriors Rugby League, Macclesfield RUFC, KS Dance College, Manchester Magic Basketball, as well as Track and Field Athletes, Marathon Runners and Female Flag Football Players to name a few. Since returning to Gloucestershire she has also begun work with a local football team, providing pitchside first aid and injury management.

As a fully qualified Sport Rehabilitator, she is required to complete regular Continued Professional Development (CPD) and follow strict codes of ethics, conduct and professional practice regulated by BASRaT.

What is BASRaT?

The British Association of Sport Rehabilitators and Trainers (BASRaT) is “the UK regulator and professional association for Sport Rehabilitators, whose register is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. They ensure professional competency and continued professional development.”

What can you expect from a consultation?

Your initial consultation with Hannah will begin with an in-depth conversation to discuss the pain you are experiencing, as well as questions surrounding your current lifestyle and medical history. This will be followed by a physical assessment in order to identify the cause of your pain and provide a more accurate diagnosis.

She will then take you through possible treatment options that aim to help you to resolve your pain. This may be achieved through a combination of movement, exercise and therapeutic interventions, such as; sports massage, dry needling, mobilisations and stretching.

Are there any risks associated with treatment?

Prior to treatment you should inform Hannah of any underlying health conditions or allergies that you may have, so that she can provide suitable treatment options to suit you. Before proceeding, Hannah will then inform you of any risks to allow you to make informed choices about how you would like to manage your pain.

Like any manual therapy or exercise based treatment, you may experience some post-treatment soreness which is usually minimal and short-lived. There is also the risk of skin irritation caused by some of the therapeutic techniques used, but Hannah is trained to recognise and identify risk factors and adapt your treatments around this, as well as reassessing the effects of treatment and modify it depending on your reaction.

If required, she is also able to refer on to other members of the healthcare team wherever that is appropriate.

What can they treat?

Sport Rehabilitators aid in the symptom relief and rehabilitation of a wide variety of soft-tissue and MSK injuries and conditions, which may include: