Sports massage training - advice please!

[Yam]

Hi i wonder if anyone can advise me on the best sports massage course to do. I have looked at NLSSM and Active Health group. Active Health group is miles more value for money and does an intensive course which would be great. Howver, NLSSM/LSSM advise that the longer courses are better as you have a chance to practice techniques etc. Both seem to cover alot - I want to be able to work without supervison and the 2 different schools are affiliated to different associations. Which is the best one to be part of so i could work independently and gain the most recognised qualification Hope you can help! [sm=1syellow1.gif]

 

[uqurmdho]

Hi Nics,
im going to be biased because I did the Active Health course, and i did the intensive format. I have to say that I did an ITEC sports massage, which was useless and that was done over a few months, but it was useless. On the Active course in the first week I got the chance to practice on genuine clients which they provided from their own clinics. The way i did it meant that I was could practice, practice, practice, which we students used to do every single night of the week.

I have seen that LSSM dont advise intensive courses, but thats because they dont run them. Active run 3 formats, an intensive, an 10 weekend, and a 10 month, and I have met graduates from all formats, on CPD workshops, and everyone was equally as capable. At the end of the day you can practice for a year when you are training, but if you dont have supervised practice, then you dont know if you are going wrong! At Active, the trainers would stay behind untilthe last student left, sometimes aslate as 9pm, so that they could provide supervision.

NLSSM is part of SMA, but I received information that Active are also working with SMA, now that SMA have sorted out their own internal issues. LSSM is no longer part of SMA.

On a seperate piece of advice, the sports therapy industry is going through state registration, which means that once its through, a sports therapist will have a protected title, and will be classed as an 'allied medical professional' on the same level asa physiotherapist or other HPC registered profession. Sports Massage is not going through this process, so it will probably always be banded along with every other complementary therapy. In my opinion, if you were to do a course you should do Active's level 5 sports therapy course, which is 5 days longer than their sports & remedial massage course.

Good luck which every route you take!

 

[Beautiful Day]

hI,
FROM ABOVE POST, THE ADVANCED SPORTS THERAPY COURSE IS NOT JUST 5 DAYS LONGER, YOU ALSO HAVE TO DO MORE CASE STUDIES AND DOCUMENTED HOME STUDY NOW THAT THE LEVEL 5 QUALIFICATION HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY ASET

 

[Kissi]

HI thanks for both your help its helped me come to a decision. I did look at the advancedsports therapy course which looks great and the tutors all seem really helpful - canyou join the society of sports therapists after doing this?

cheers

 

[iAm]

you can join society after doing the active course, but you cant if you do the NLSSM or LSSM

 

[Leo Lady]

Personally (at the risk of upsetting the 'Active Health Group' lobby) I would have thought that the answer to nics' question about which is the more recognised association depends on whether you want to be a 'sports therapist' (in which case I would agree that STO is the better bet), a 'sports massage practitioner' (there has been a lot of previous discussion on this forum, but I still think that the SMA provides the best job opportunities, although its affiliated schools don't seem to offer the best training) or a 'remedial massage therapist' (in which case I would be inclined to recommend ISRM).

There is probably scope for a separate thread to explain the differences between a 'sports therapist' and a 'remedial massage therapist'!!

Regards

Alan

 

[Bhuwisit]

Hi Alan,
I agree with the STO/SMA link there, I enquired as to whether Active Health Group are going to become affiliated to SMA, and the answer is what I said above, yes. Still in my opinion, now that SMA allow all levels to join, i.e '2 dayers' at level 3, I think it sort of weakens the structure a little.That being said, I am a member of STO, as I get lots of opportunities through them, and I am going to join the SMA.

Re ISRM, this has quite blatantly been set up because of the LSSM not being part of SMA anymore.They need an organisation to validate them, so they settheir own up. Not a totally bad thing, butI also think that the way sports therapy and sports massage is being marketed and promoted, the ISRM will be shut out of a lot of things that are happening, which will probably effect its members.

One thingI would add is that I researched into the industry long and hard before I trained, and found that the majority of the opportunities exist for sports therapists, as opposed to sports massage or remedial massage. These opportunitiescan only grow once the industry becomes part of the HPC registered professions.

 

[tartaqi]

Hi all,
without sitting on the fence here, I tend to agree with both AlanD and Myoman on the points they raise, However the issue of regulation is going to reqiure all these validating bodies to work a lot closer together than has been the norm.
I think the courses that are internally validated will be forced to move towards external validation sooner rather than later, especially now ACTUAL level 4 and 5 qualifications exist. The previous sports therapy/massage threads have ran their course and makes interesting reading. As an STO member I have been pleased with the back up and support I receive and with the continuing updating of information regarding HPC regulation but cannot comment about SMA other than I did not receive answers to specific questions i raised by both email and snail mail.
Best of luck whichever direction you choose to take.

PS I actually think that state regulation will not get through with its present application.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Hopefully I can offer greater insight into why the ISRM was formed. It's main objective is to develop sport and remedial massage training within the uk, by working with smaller schools who offer training at a level 4 (ISRM does not accept anything less than level 4). Under normal circumstances, smaller schools cannot receive external validation, as they do not produce the numbers, hence, by being under an umbrella group they can grow and be recognized while maintaining a high standard of training. As for why the LSSM left the SMA, I believe they felt the ISRM better represented their needs. As for training and being able to get jobs, actually the doors are very much open with sport and remedial training, practitioners are highly respected by the appropriate organizations as they have an excellent reputation for quality. As well graduates can work independently, open their own clinics, but most importantly meet the needs of the clients. I must admit, I too am slightly biased...

 

[sistDioke winkingsize.com]

Hi its good to hear from you about the setting up of ISRM, however when you say about level 4 training offered by smaller schools, which schools are these and could you give me details of who validates their level 4 courses, this topic has again been discussed at length, but IMO courses that are "aligned or mapped to" level 4 are still level 3 unless external validation is taking place.
there is no limit on school size that restricts external validation, I suspect that the cost implications are the root cause, unless a school is training students week in and week out, there is no way that they will be able to bear the costs assosiated with the setting up of this level of course, the paper chase that is involved with maintaining documentation for validation and the actual cost of assessment of students.
i feel that I may be starting to re cover old ground here, lets hope that as I have previously stated , ALL validating bodies start to work together rather than pulling in different directions for what I think is personal reasons by some chairmen/women and board members. To take this industry forward is something to which we should all be aspiring irrespective of our allegance to STO/ISRM/ SST etc etc etc
Gaz

 

[Pompal 09.]

From there wibsite

External validation
The Institute is externally validated by Edexel/BTEC which is a national awarding body for vocational education and training. They have evaluated the ISRM qualification and graded it at a level 4 (NVQ equivalent) and oversee the Institute’s internal assessment procedures to ensure that high standards are consistently achieved.

The Schools

[link=http://www.theisrm.com/schools.php]http://www.theisrm.com/schools.php[/link]

HTH

 

[devismutuelleknv]

many thanks,
Gaz