Sports medicine offers careers in optimizing athlete performance and treating injuries. Athletic trainers, physical therapists, chiropractors, exercise physiologists, sports nutritionists, and sport psychologists are all involved in this field. Educational requirements vary, but generally require a four-year college degree with a focus on sport physiology.
Students interested in medicine, exercise, or sports science may wish to pursue careers in sports medicine. People employed in these areas may work with healthy athletes to optimize performance or with injured people who may or may not be athletes. Sports medicine also offers career options for students interested in helping athletes through nutrition or psychology. While educational requirements can vary by country, these positions generally require at least a four-year college degree with a focus on sport physiology, and an advanced degree may also be required.
Athletic trainers are certified and licensed health professionals who often collaborate with physicians to prevent, diagnose and treat acute and chronic injuries, particularly among physically active populations such as athletes. They may specialize in assessing injuries, providing first aid, applying injury prevention devices, implementing rehabilitation programs, and planning initiatives to prevent illness and injury.
Other sports medicine careers use sports rehabilitation to help the injured. These careers include physical therapy and chiropractic medicine. People in these careers can work with athletes and non-athletes alike.
Physical therapists create exercise and stretching programs to aid recovery, as well as helping patients perform these activities. Chiropractors specializing in sports medicine careers can provide additional therapies along with standard chiropractic manipulations. Chiropractic and physical therapy services can be performed in offices, schools, hospitals or nursing homes.
Exercise physiologists are healthcare professionals whose patients may have heart problems or other ongoing disorders. They can create personal exercise programs for their patients. Exercise physiologists are usually primarily interested in the cardiovascular system.
Nutrition is an important part of optimizing athletic performance. Students interested in athletics and nutrition may find an ideal career in sports nutrition. A sports nutritionist can recommend food types, portion control, and meal and snack times to help athletes perform at their best and recover faster. Improved nutrition can also reduce the chance of a sports injury.
Whether professional or amateur, sport can be stressful for serious athletes. Along with the ability to handle stress, many sports require mental strength and confidence. Athletes can work with sport psychologists to improve their skills to deal with stress and excel in sport. The work of sport psychologists may be similar to traditional psychologists, but the sport psychologist’s clients will be athletes. People in these sports medicine careers may also choose research positions over working with individual clients.
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