What Are the Basics of a Sports Medicine Degree?
Do you enjoy sports? Are you interested in a health-related career that allows you to work with athletes? If you answered yes, then you might be interested in learning about sports medicine. Read on to learn more about the basics of a sports medicine degree. Schools offering Education - Sports Management degrees can also be found in these popular choices.
Basics of Sports Medicine
The industry of sports medicine refers to healthcare and similar services in the field of exercise, sports and physical recreational activities. Sports medicine is closely related to kinesiology, which is human kinetics, as well as to exercise physiology. In this field, you'll use scientific and medical knowledge to help others by identifying, assisting, rehabilitating and preventing injuries.
Types of Degrees
You'll find all sports medicine degree programs are a combination of fitness and anatomical science. These programs prepare you for careers in athletic training, teaching, massage therapy and medicine. You'll receive extensive hands on experience through a mixture of laboratory assignments and field practice. The courses you'll take will depend upon the level of degree you're pursuing.
Sports Medicine Associate Degree
Associate degree programs in sports medicine can be found at many community colleges. You can expect to take courses such as first aid, sports nutrition, strength conditioning, lifetime fitness and sports injury management. If you're interested in a shorter, more condensed program, certificate programs are also available.
Sports Medicine Bachelor Degree
A bachelor's degree gives you the foundation for your career in sports medicine or to pursue further educational goals. This degree program allows you to specialize in areas of sports medicine. Some of the classes you can expect to take include chemistry, physics, human anatomy, human physiology, biostatistics, musculoskeletal anatomy, exercise physiology and neuroscience.
Sports Medicine Master Degree
At the graduate level, sports medicine programs focus on advanced topics such as muscle physiology and clinical biomechanics. These programs often require a thesis to be completed at the end of the 2-year program. Classes include human movement, advanced exercise physiology, musculoskeletal injuries and advanced conditioning.
Types of Occupations and Careers
There is a variety of career opportunities available to you in sports medicine, based on your degree and experience level. For example, an associate's degree allows you to work in entry-level and aide positions, such as a fitness worker or physical therapist aide. As a fitness worker, you'll work in individual or group settings to provide exercise instructions. As a physical therapy aide, you'd help patients with their rehabilitative exercises.
If you possess a bachelor's degree in sports medicine, you may pursue careers such as an athletic trainer. Athletic trainers assist athletes by helping them prevent serious injuries and developing exercise regiments for them. If you're working as part of a collegiate or high school athletic program, you'll travel with your sports teams to sporting events and help athletes prepare for games. As an athletic trainer, you'll likely be the first person to respond to a sports injury suffered during play.
With a master's degree in sports medicine, you could become a physical therapist. You would oversee and help others overcome injuries and disabilities in health care and rehabilitative settings. You may also teach at universities and colleges.
To continue researching, browse degree options below for course curriculum, prerequisites and financial aid information. Or, learn more about the subject by reading the related articles below:
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