Whats the difference between physiotherapy, physical therapy and Sports Massage?

Aileen Durkan
Jun 27, 2015
2 min read

If you have had an injury it can often be confusing knowing who to go to to get treatment. I hope this blog will give you a clearer idea of who can help and the differences between the three modalities.

FAQ

Do I need to do sports to go to a sports massage therapist?

No you dont need to be an athlete or do any kind of sports to go to a sports massage therapist. A sports massage therapist treats injuries that are most commonly related to sports injuries but they also treat injuries that are not necessarily sports injuires, e.g. frozen shoulder, sciatica, strains and sprains.

Are they all hands-on therapies?

physical therapy and sports massage are both hands-on therapies. Both of these therapies work physically on the muscles and soft tissue.

Physiotherapy is a bit different. Some physios will work directly on the muscles and soft tissue, sometimes they will use machienes to work on the area and sometimes they will take on more of an assesment role and will not do any physical work on the area.

Do they give after-care advice?

Yes, all of these therapies give after care advice, with regards to stretching and strengthening exercises and how much rest is needed as well as any additional advice related to your injury or problem. Irish physiotherapists are very well versed on aftercare advise and will often advise you to see a physical or sports massage therapist after their initial assesment as well as giving stretching and stregthening exercises.

Who do I go to for initial assesment?

All three therapies can give you an initial assesment. However if the injury or pain is very acute or the injury may be complicated I would highly recommend going to a physiotherapist first. They will be able to tell you if you need to get a scan or an x-ray and because they have a more clinical training they can look at any cardio, respirtitory or neurological issues that may be associated with your injury.

How long will the treatment take?

Physical and Sports massage treatment is generally an hour long. This factors in assesment time, physical treatment and aftercare advice.

With Physiotherapy treatment time varies. In the public sector i.e. in hospitals or public clinics, there can be very high demand and this adds pressure on physios for time, often you may only get between 15-30mins with the physio. In the private sector treatments can last between 15-60mins but there can be long waiting lists.

I hope this helped to make things a bit clearer, if you have any other questions regarding this blog you can email me at aileenholistic@gmail.com and I will do my best to give you an answer.