Sports and Exercise Therapy
Sports and exercise therapy is a clinical profession concerned with the prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries arising from sport, exercise and physical activity. It draws on exercise physiology, anatomy, biomechanics, sports medicine and rehabilitation science to develop practitioners who can work with athletes and active people across a wide range of settings, from sports clubs and performance environments to clinical therapy practices and gym-based rehabilitation. The field requires both rigorous scientific knowledge and highly developed practical skills in assessment and manual therapy.
At Coventry University this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad and embedded work placement experience, including hands-on clinical training in an on-campus sports therapy clinic. You will learn to assess and treat sports injuries by combining exercise physiology with rehabilitation, as the current description notes. The curriculum covers anatomy and physiology, sports massage, exercise rehabilitation, injury assessment, taping and bracing, electrotherapy, nutrition and the psychological dimensions of injury and return to sport.
The clinical placement experience is central to the degree, allowing you to develop practical competence under supervision with real clients. A typical entry tariff of 104 points reflects the programme's accessible character within the health sciences.
Graduates work as sports therapists across professional sport, semi-professional clubs, leisure and fitness centres, private therapy practices, military rehabilitation and occupational health settings. Many pursue membership of the Society of Sports Therapists or related professional bodies, which is important for professional credibility and insurance. Further study is an option for those who want to extend their scope of practice into physiotherapy (which requires additional undergraduate or postgraduate training), advanced sports medicine, strength and conditioning, or clinical exercise physiology.
The practical and scientific training the degree provides equips graduates to work effectively with people at all levels of physical activity.