Often, physiotherapy and athletic therapy are incorrectly used as interchangeable terms amongst the public. Much of this is due to physiotherapy being a more widely known profession and the overlap between the two fields, dealing with injuries and often working in sports environments.
We spoke with Charlotte Van Audenrode, who is dual credentialed as a Certified Athletic Therapist and Registered Physiotherapist, to get her insights on how the two fields are distinct:
Charlotte always had an interest in sports and wanted to pursue a career in that world. She first gained knowledge of athletic therapy through an "Injury Care and Prevention" class where she was working to achieve an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology. It piqued her interest as a way to incorporate her interest in sports, human biomechanics, and rehabilitation.
After finishing her undergraduate degree from McGill University, Charlotte continued to gain experience and expand her skill set. From there, Charlotte went on to complete a Master of Physiotherapy from The University of Sydney, Australia, as well as an Advanced Certificate in Athletic Therapy from Mount Royal University (MRU) to make herself a more well-rounded healthcare practitioner.
Distinctions Between Physiotherapy and Athletic Therapy
If we consider schooling for Certified ATs and Physiotherapists, one of the main differences is the multi-systemic approach of physiotherapy education versus the musculoskeletal focus of Athletic Therapy. Physiotherapy education splits its focus into a musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiorespiratory rehabilitation approach. In contrast, athletic therapy education puts a primary focus on the musculoskeletal systems, with a slight dive into the neurological system.
Certified ATs also put more emphasis on emergency management, athletic taping, team management, and overall sideline management of injuries. The extensive training and hours spent while in school learning those skills place them as the highest qualified to be on the sidelines and working with teams on a day-to-day basis.
In a clinical setting, Certified ATs and Physiotherapists have a similar scope of practice. Due to being in a regulated profession, physiotherapists might have access to certain modalities that Certified ATs cannot perform, but it is highly dependent on the province of registration, as health care is provincially managed. Differences may be found in the approaches to treatment based on differences in education.
Overall, physiotherapists and Certified ATs are part of the same team with the sole focus on returning patients to their pre-injury lifestyle. Seeing and hearing from both sides of the equation, Charlotte believes it would be in both profession’s interest to gather a better understanding of each’s scope of practice and skill sets to improve patient care. Physiotherapists and Certified ATs offer complementary care that focuses on different aspects of recovery, and when working together, can get their patients/athletes back to function faster and more effectively.
To learn more about the scope of practice for an Athletic Therapist, visit our website here. Stay up to date with CATA by following us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn!