Course description
Who is this course for?
The programme is ideal for Graduate Physiotherapists and/or Sports Therapists with at least two years post-graduation experience, currently working within football in some capacity and keen to progress both academic and specific practical skills.
What will I gain from this programme?
This programme focuses on the knowledge, understanding and skills required to prepare you to meet the demands of professional football. With a good balance between practical and theoretical skills, a range of appropriate assessments help prepare you for work in a multidisciplinary team.
The programme does not guarantee access to employment within professional football but it will equip you with the knowledge, understanding and skills to meet the demands of such a role.
What will I study?
The Postgraduate Certificate is ideally suited to those wishing to enhance their professional practice within football rehabilitation. It consists of two core modules that together form the foundations for working as a safe and effective evidence based practitioner within this field. It is ideal if you are not able to commit to full-time study but wish to enhance your practice and fulfil continuing professional development requirements. The Postgraduate Diploma is an extension of the postgraduate certificate that aims to produce a more rounded holistic evidence-based practitioner capable of embracing the multi-disciplinary nature of a medical and exercise science team within football. Alongside the two modules that provide the foundations of football rehabilitation, you will study modules on strength training and conditioning, preparation and planning for performance and research design and analysis. As well as producing a rounded, holistic evidence-based practitioner, the MSc also looks to develop you into a practitioner keen and able to advance the profession by engaging in practice related research. In addition to the modules studied on the Postgraduate Diploma, the final stage of the MSc is your own independent research project where you will be required to conduct, with guidance, a piece of independent research related to rehabilitation in football.
How will I study?
The curriculum will be delivered in a blended approach with a combination of module study books providing problem based tasks, taught sessions at Edge Hill University delivered in intensive three day blocks, virtual learning environment support throughout the duration of study and candidates completing their own clinical experience. Completion of the full MSc programme should take two years but a range of flexible options are available to meet the demands of those practising as physiotherapists and/or sports therapists. Alongside the taught element of the modules, you will be required to complete, reflect upon and report relevant clinical experiential practice. It is your responsibility to ensure you have access to an appropriate environment to gain this clinical experience. In total you should be prepared to give up 1,800 hours of time to complete the MSc, with 1,200 hours required for the Postgraduate Diploma and 600 hours for the Postgraduate Certificate.
Who will be teaching me?
You will be taught by physiotherapists and sports therapists with experience of working within football from grass roots to premiership level. The programme is also delivered by sports scientists with experience of providing scientific support for football players across the full performance spectrum. This team of staff will be complemented by lecturers from a range of services used to support the rehabilitation of football players, together with visits from current practitioners working in professional football.
How will I be assessed?
Assessment includes gym and field-based practical rehabilitation exams, oral vivas, literature review, presentation and clinical portfolio.
For the MSc, you will also complete an independent research project.
Further study at Edge Hill University
Following on from successful completion of your MSc Football Rehabilitation we would be keen to speak to candidates interested in the continued pursuit of relevant research in the form of MPhil/PhD.
Modules
Many of these modules are available on a stand-alone basis to fulfil continuing professional development requirements and/or if you have an area of special interest.
SPT409 Injury and Rehabilitation in a Football Environment (30 credits): The module provides the student with an opportunity to develop practical and theoretical skills in the understanding of rehabilitation specific to football. It concentrates on the earlier stages of rehabilitation to and including later stage rehabilitation in the gymnasium setting. The module aims to link ‘on the pitch’ handling to further management and planning of care pathways available to the injured athlete. The module also provides the student with a sound base of certain strategies and policies that the Football Association adopts in respect of the prevention, recognition, reduction of injuries and the general welfare of the footballer.
SPT410 Currents Concepts in Football Rehabilitation (30 credits): The module concentrates on later stages of rehabilitation including the functional stage in field based setting. The module aims to link the earlier stages of rehabilitation with the need for detailed testing and training at the final stage prior to the footballer returning to train with the fit and healthy squad. The module provides the student with a platform to discuss and debate key current concepts and issues of football rehabilitation. A sound base of certain strategies and policies that the Football Association adopt in respect of the prevention, recognition, reduction of injuries and the general welfare of the footballer is also discussed.
SPT411 Preparation, Planning and Performance in Football (20 credits): A multi-disciplinary consideration of sport and exercise science within football. The module considers factors pertinent to the role performed by sport and exercise scientists at professional football clubs, considering all aspects of the physical and physiological development and preparation of players. The periodisation of the competitive season and training week, the nutritional demands of professional sport, the trainability of those physiological systems contributing to performance, and the increasing use of innovative technologies are all considered within this module. The module also investigates the overlap between scientist and sport/physiotherapist and their integration within a sports medicine team.
SPT403 Research Design and Analysis (20 credits): This module offers the opportunity to further develop the necessary skills to design, analyse and critically evaluate research within the field of football rehabilitation. Approaches and quality issues associated with research designs will be examined and students will also be offered the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and understanding of statistical procedures. There is no intention that the module will address all statistical needs but will provide a platform to enable you to develop additional statistical skills through the remainder of their programme. The skills developed during this module are helpful for practitioners keen to examine the ever expanding and sometimes equivocal evidence base that underpins their practice.
SPT404 Current Issues in Strength Training and Conditioning (20 credits): The aim of this module is to develop knowledge in the area of strength training and conditioning through analysing current research and practical issues in the area. The module embraces a range of strength and conditioning practices that could be applied within a football setting to prevent injury, aid full rehabilitation and enhance performance. This approach should provide you with an ideal foundation to achieve further qualifications in strength and conditioning such as the UK strength and conditioning association (UKSCA) accreditation or become a NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist.
SPT408 Research Project (60 credits): The module is designed to provide the academic and practical skills necessary to independently undertake a piece of research of near-publishable quality within a relevant football rehabilitation topic. Specifically, the module allows students to undertake a comprehensive critical review of literature and to select appropriate methods and analytical procedures to conduct original research in a self-chosen topic. The skills developed during this module are essential for engaging in further research, public presentations and publications in your future career. By completing this module, you should embrace the challenge of advancing the profession of football rehabilitation.
