Program Overview

MSc - Sport and Exercise Rehabilitation

This course is ideal for a graduate physiotherapist professional, or other respective health professional wanting to practise in a sport and exercise environment. This innovative one-year programme will give the opportunity to become your best.

Course Overview

You will have the opportunity to specialise in musculoskeletal injuries and exercise rehabilitation, enabling you to work within high performance sport, as well as the NHS and clinical practice. A key component of the programme involves exposure to real-world settings allowing for the application of theory into practice and provides you with the opportunity to develop your theoretical knowledge and practical skillset. You will explore an array of applied manual therapeutic techniques, including soft tissue skills, as well as functional rehabilitation and pathophysiology of treatment techniques, athletic strength and conditioning, advanced spinal and pitch-side trauma management and multidisciplinary support for sport and exercise. You will deepen your knowledge and understanding of athletes needs, undertaking clinical and physical tests and assessments and interpreting data and information gathered to prevent injury, aid rehabilitation and enhance athlete performance.

On this course you will...

• Be able to reach your career goal within one calendar year rather than the more typical two years offered in relatable MSc programmes.
• Develop an advanced knowledge of sports science and sport injuries to work at the forefront and in the highest sectors of the sports industry, whilst also developing a critical approach to clinical practice and a wide range of transferrable interpersonal skills.
• Undertake additional courses and qualifications to enhance your CV, including Rocktape FM1 and the Pre-Hospital Immediate Care in Sport (PHICIS) Level 2 Course. These are industry leading qualifications for professional working in elite sport and are integrated into your programme at no additional cost.
• Apply new knowledge and skills learnt into action by undertaking an extended applied practitioner project in a discipline of your choice through undertaking a 100-hour practitioner placement. You will be able to take advantage of our key partnerships, including with professional and academy level sports clubs and sports injury & rehabilitation clinics, to provide research underpinned intervention strategies to enhance athletes’ injury rehabilitation, prevention and performance.
• Have access to our specially designed sport and exercise rehabilitation facilities. This includes the Sports Injury Clinic, Functional Rehabilitation and Strength and Conditioning Suite, as well as human performance laboratories. The Institute also benefits from a range of cutting-edge equipment such as focused shockwave for injury treatment, and biomechanical based techniques used to analyse human movement which you will be able to use to screen for and prevent against injury.
• Study modules involving high quality profession specific training delivered by our excellent staff who are not only research active subject experts but have experience working within the sports industry, bringing professional real-world experience of working with sport performers and teams, coaches, backroom staff and sport governing bodies and organisations.

Key Details

• Recruiting to: UK / RoI / Settled in UK, EU / EEA / International
• Course Location: Lancaster
• Institute: Institute of Health
• Delivery Style: In-person
• Course Duration: Full-time: 1 Year
• Course Start Point: September
• Award: MSc

Minimum entry requirements

• 2:2 or above Honours degree

Tuition fees

• £8,705 - UK (2024/25 year, subsequent year fee is subject to inflation)
• £13,575 - International (2024/25 year, subsequent year fee is subject to inflation)

Course Structure

What you will learn

This course provides you with the in-depth theoretical knowledge and practical skillset to enable you to be a highly skilled and competent professional working as a specialist in musculoskeletal injuries and exercise rehabilitation in a sport and exercise environment. The modules on this course develop a deep knowledge of Therapeutic Techniques, Exercise Rehabilitation and Conditioning, and Injury Screening and Prehabilitation and how these are applied to the subjective and objective evaluation and analysis of athletes to aid recovery and prevention against injury.

Year one

• Functional Sports Rehabilitation
• Sporting Manual Therapy
• Multidisciplinary Support in Sport and Exercise
• Athletic Strength & Conditioning
• Pathophysiology & Therapeutic Techniques
• Spinal & Pitch-side Trauma Management
• Screening & Injury Prevention
• Applied Practitioner Project

Teaching & Assessment

How you will learn

Key knowledge, understanding, and subject specific skills will be practised and developed through a wide range of teaching and learning methods including lectures, practical sessions, seminars, laboratory-based practical work, case studies, discussion, debates, small group work, seminar presentations, reflection, problem-based learning, vocational placement, independent study and research projects.

How you will be assessed

Modules use formative and summative assessment so that you can progress through a module in a structured and constructive way and build knowledge for practice in a coherent and logical way. A varied diet of assessment methods will be utilised to prepare you for further academic study and professional practice, reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of this programme and the increasing demand for employment ready graduates.

Career Outcomes

Graduate opportunities exist working in elite sport with sports performers or teams, or within private practice as a sport physiotherapy (please note that this is subject to being registered with the CSP/HCPC). Alumni have sourced careers working in various elite sports environments, e.g., Liverpool FC, Crystal Palace FC, Blackburn Rovers FC, Morecambe FC, Carlisle United FC and across other sports including Rugby).

Research

Research interests across the team include Sports Screening and Injury Prevention, Injury specific treatment protocols, Physiological adaptations and demands in football, Preseason testing to training demands in football, Talent development, Sport and Exercise Psychology, Sport and Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Health.

Overview

Students should have a 2:2 or above in a relevant undergraduate degree (Physiotherapy, related health profession).

Qualifications

Entry Requirements

• GCSEs: GCSE English grade 4 (C) or equivalent.

Fair Admissions

When you apply, our Admissions specialists will review your whole application. We are looking for your potential to succeed so will assess your qualifications, any relevant work experience, your personal statement, and references.

Selection Criteria

As part of the application and selection process, we are looking for your commitment to this programme. In your personal statement, you should demonstrate your motivation for choosing this course and reflect upon any experience you have gained.

Funding

Student funding and fees information can be found here.

Additional Costs

There will be some additional costs associated with the course including stationery, textbooks, field trips and membership fees although some of these features may be optional.

Books and Journals

Books are reviewed annually and are therefore subject to change, your course welcome information will provide you with an indicative list for the year. All our textbooks are available in the library and where possible the books are also available free as eBooks/online. However, should you wish to purchase your own copies of key texts you should expect to pay approximately £100-£200 a year on textbooks and scripts although this cost can be reduced considerably by sourcing second-hand copies of books.

Stationery

You will need to budget for stationery and consumables for your own personal use. This should include notebooks, pens and pencils for taking notes in class and/or in the field. You should also budget for the purchase of USB pen drives, as well as occasional printing and photocopying costs incurred in the preparation or submission of coursework. Whilst you will choose how much you need, expect to pay around £30 - £40 per year for these items.

Clothing and Equipment

This programme has its own Sports Kit which is worn for practical activities and when out on community-based activities and placements; this is optional, students may purchase some or all items, but recommended items equal approx. £120. This may be cheaper than purchasing equivalent branded items of sports kit from high street stores.

Other

Extra costs may also be applicable to cover sports club and gym membership fees, although these are optional within the programme. Travel costs for placement-based activities will need to be covered; this is likely to cost around £30 - £50, although will be dependent on the placement location. This can be negotiated with the Applied Practitioner Project module leader. You will also need to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check as part of your admission to the programme at a personal cost of between £50-£60.