Good health: should we pay to get healthy?

by Edimar Kampgen

Do you know what differentiates sports rehabilitation from physiotherapy? If not, you’re not alone. Not even fitness professionals do.

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“I don’t know the difference between them,” said Jason Ponteen, 46, a personal trainer and amateur boxing coach at Body Junkies on Holloway Road.

“We have people coming with injuries and normally I send them to this osteopath I know. That is normally what I do, we do not really work here on rehabilitation for injury,” he said.

Video by Edimar Kampgen

“Once they [my pupils] get injury-free, then we go forward, but when they have got some kind of injury issue going, I send them to osteopath which I know that will get them treated and get them to help before they start training.”

Distinct roles

Healing and recovery – these two terms often intermingle, causing confusion for many. Sports rehabilitation and physiotherapy, though related, play distinct roles in restoring health and functionality.

Thought to be designed for high performance athletes only, sports rehabilitation is a specialized branch of therapy targeting athletes recovering from injuries. It includes tailored exercise programmes, focusing on strength and flexibility, which are designed to address sports-related injuries.

The emphasis is not only on recovery but also on enhancing performance. Trained professionals work closely with athletes, crafting regimens that mimic the demands of their sport.

Raffaella Potonutti, 49, has been a Sports Therapist and Senior Lecturer at London Met for the last 14 years. She said: “People don’t know because physiotherapy has existed for very long time and people are very used to get the terminology when they talk about injuries in general.” Sports or rehabilitation therapy, she added, was invented in the 1990s and “is fairly new”.

Physiotherapy, on the other hand, casts a broader net. It encompasses a spectrum of conditions, ranging from musculoskeletal issues to neurological disorders. Physiotherapists employ diverse techniques, including massage, exercises, and electrotherapy, to alleviate pain and improve mobility.

The goal is not solely centred on athletes but extends to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. “Physio deals with so many other things; all the neurological problems and illnesses and conditions, respiratory physio, fibrosis, urinary incontinence, etcetera, while the sports therapists deal with musculoskeletal.”

She adds that physiotherapy is a medical profession while “sports therapy is a health profession”.

While both share common goals of restoring movement and function, the key distinction lies in their scope and focus. Sports rehabilitation targets athletes with a specialized approach, concentrating on the demands of their specific sport. Physiotherapy, being more comprehensive, caters to a broader range of conditions, considering the varied needs of patients.

Physiology counts

Yaz Montero, 45, is a third-year sports therapist student at London Met. “Physiotherapy is more into physiology, when somebody else comes from a surgery for example, they help them to rehabilitate. We don’t do that; we are more specific in musculoskeletal rehabilitation… physiotherapy is broader.

“We put high performance athletes back to the point where they were in confidence, while physiotherapy just put them back to function.”

The path to recovery depends on the nature of the condition. Athletes recovering from sports injuries might find sports rehabilitation more attuned to their needs. Meanwhile, those seeking general mobility improvement or recovering from surgery could benefit from the diverse techniques offered by physiotherapy.

“I could be [referring them] there, but it depends on what set up is and, obviously how the partnership works,” said Ponteen from Body Junkies.

“Because we do not treat them here and it is our interest to get people back into a condition to exercise.”

Getting it right

In essence, whether you are a sports enthusiast or someone on the journey to general wellness, understanding these distinctions can guide you towards the right avenue for recovery.

Both sports rehabilitation and physiotherapy stand as pillars of support, ready to assist individuals in reclaiming a life of movement and vitality.

Everyone is welcome to be treated by third-year students at London Met, supervised by sports therapist Raffaella on Tuesday mornings from 9am. Students can be treated for free while outsiders pay a £30 fee.