Level 4 Sports Massage Therapy

YMCA Awards Level 4 Certificate  in Sports Massage Therapy

At Level 4, a Sports Massage Therapist practitioners role includes planning, providing and evaluating sports massage treatments to seek to correct common patterns of dysfunction, and/or pre-diagnosed injuries, using a range of basic and advanced assessment and massage and manual therapy techniques.

Why Level 4?

This course will enable you to assess injuries more effectively. Through advanced assessment techniques, you will be able to find out what structures are involved and develop the most appropriate treatment plan.

This qualification is advanced of the Level 3 Sports Massage Therapy since it qualifies you to work with injured clients and supports access into degree programmes in Sports Therapy and Sports Sciences.

This qualification awards 10 CIMSPA points and upon successful completion, you will be eligible to take out insurance as a sports massage therapist and apply for a membership with a professional body such as The Association of Soft Tissue Therapists or The Sports Therapy Association.

Payment Plan

To make your qualification more affordable, we offer a payment plan where you pay a non-refundable £125 deposit and choose to repay the balance, interest-free over 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.

All about the course

The Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy is a LIVE course, which involves both study from home and attendance to course dates and assessment days.

What is the entry requirement for this course?

Applicants must be at least 16 years old, be fit enough to perform massage, have a passion for helping people, good communication skills, IT skills, an interest in learning about the body and the motivation to learn and practice outside of course dates.

For those enrolling on this course who don't already have a current, recognised Level 3 Sports or Performance Massage qualification, will need to complete our Level 3 Performance Massage qualifcation alongside this course, including all the mandatory dates for this qualification. Enrolling on both courses at the same time, will offer a 15% discount. The total cost of the Level 3 and 4 Sports Massage Therapy courses is £1722.95 (saving £304.05).

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What attendance is required for this course?

This LIVE course includes some study from home, and homework tasks plus SIX mandatory course attendance dates held on a Wednesday over a minimum period of 3 months. This will be followed by THREE further mandatory dates within the following 5 months which will include your assessments. These additional three dates are arranged closer to the time as you will be required to bring along a client to each date. Your client on each date will only be required to attend for a hour.

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This course requires you to be practising alongside your studies in order to gain experience with real clients. This can be family members/friends.

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100% attendance is required in order to be entered for the final exams. If less than 100% attendance is achieved, then a transfer fee of £125 is payable in order to transfer to next course.

How long does it take to complete the course?

You have up to 2 years from when you enrol, but it is often completed within 1 year. There is opportunities for you to complete the theory exams and practical assessments during the course, and if doing so, you can expect to be complete by the last attendance date (subject to any re-assessments if required).

What will I learn on the Level 4 Sports Massage Therapy Diploma?

At Fit4Training, we take a modern approach to soft tissue therapy. Thoughts about sports massage have changed considerably over the years and it is now understood that the effects of massage is largely due to neurological responses via our contact with receptors in the skin rather than actually stretching and lengthening soft tissue.

What topics are covered on this course?

During the course, you will cover;

• Anatomy and aetiology of soft tissue dysfunction,

  • Bony structure​s,

  • Soft tissue structures,

  • The musculooskeletal system's interaction with the nervous system,

  • How biomechanical dysfunction/ faulty movement patterns can result in injury,

  • Common injuries and soft tissue dysfunction including pathology, signs and symptoms, causative factors and clinical assessment findings,

  • Neurological conditions which may require referral,

  • Uses and side effects of major classes of drugs,

  • Causes of soft tissue dysfunction including primary and secondary injuries,

  • How to identify different types of soft tissue damage,

  • Treatment of oedema relating to injury.

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• Clinical assessment methods and strategic planning

  • How subjective information influences the selection of objective tests,

  • Principles and practive of objective assessment techniques including palpation, range of movement tests, posture analysis, functional and special tests,

  • Conducting subjective and objective assessments and devising a treatment plan.

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• The use of non-electrical therapeautic modalities in the treatment of soft tissue dysfunction

  • Principles of a range of soft tissue techniques including soft tissue release (STR), myofascial release (MFR), corrective frictions, trigger point therapy, muscle energy techniques (METs), and positional release,

  • The aims of treatment and modalitiy options for the acute, sub-acute and chronic stage of injuries,

  • The use of crytherapy and heat for the treatment of soft tissue injuries, including aims, effects, methods and contraindications.

• Providing post-treatment care

  • The aims of post-treatment care,

  • Post-treatment care options for each stage of injury,

  • How psychological responses can influence post-treatment care,

  • Principles of offering lifestyle advice to support post-treatment care,

  • Evaluating the effectiveness of treatment plans.

What are the course units and how are each assessed?

1. Anatomy and Aetiology of Soft Tissue Dysfunction

2. Clinical Assessment Methods and Strategic Planning

3. The Use of Non-Electrical Therapeutic Modalities in the Treatment of Soft Tissue Dysfunction

4. Providing Post Treatment Care

The above units are assessed via three different types of assessment including:

• Written worksheet questions,

• Assessor observations, and

• An invigilated written task.

Next Course Dates

Dates: 4th, 18th September, 2nd, 16th October, 13th, 27th November 2024.

Plus 3 additional dates by end of February 2024 for assessments

Venue: Telford Soft Tissue Therapy School, Telford

Times: 9.30-2.30pm