The term sports injury refers to the kinds of injuries that most commonly occur during sports or exercise. Some sports injuries result from accidents, others are due to poor training practices, improper equipment, lack of conditioning, or insufficient warm-up and stretching. Although virtually any part of your body can be injured during sports or exercise, the term is usually reserved for injuries involving the musculoskeletal system, including muscles, bones, and cartilage e.g., tennis elbow, runner’s knee, breaks to bones, torn ligaments and torn tendons. In this honours degree, students will become skilled in the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries related to physical activity.
This programme is accredited by Athletic and Rehabilitation Therapy Ireland and graduates can practice as Certified Athletic Therapists. In Year 1, athletic rehabilitation therapy is introduced as a profession and students will have the opportunity to become involved in the pre-participation screening of injuries in various teams – including collegiate and professional teams. In Year 2, students will be introduced to clinical practice through the student led START clinic and practical placements. In Year 3, students develop applied skills thereby creating the foundation pillars for the clinical practice placement which takes place in the first semester in Year 4. In the final year, the emphasis is on advanced clinical and rehabilitation techniques and a capstone project, designed to assimilate all of the skills acquired by the student throughout the four years of the course, preparing them for the profession of athletic rehabilitation therapy and employment as a professional clinical practitioner. Pre- hospital Emergency Care Council of Ireland (PHECC) approved first-aid courses are embedded into the course. Studentswill become certified Cardiac First Responders (CFR) and Emergency First Responders (EFR) by year 2 of this course.
Finally, the Athlone campus has one of the leading facility provisions for sport on the island with modern, state-of-the art equipment and teaching spaces including two Rehabilitation labs, Sports Science Lab, High Performance Gym, Biomechanics Lab and the International Arena.
