Sports Massage Therapist (SMT)

NAT Advanced Skills Diploma · 50 Hours

Sports Massage Therapist

Build the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation skills needed to support active clients and athletes more effectively.

Designed for qualified hands-on and rehabilitation professionals, this eight-module online diploma brings together sports massage, orthopaedic treatment, biomechanics, injury rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, nutrition and remedial cupping. Learn from six experienced clinicians, coaches and educators while studying flexibly at your own pace.

Study time 50 hours Structure 8 required modules Format Online and self-paced Completion Assessment and diploma

What you will learn

Connect hands-on treatment with movement, recovery and performance.

• Use case history, observation, palpation and movement findings to support sports-massage treatment planning.
• Apply sports and orthopaedic massage techniques to common regional soft-tissue presentations.
• Understand upper- and lower-body biomechanics and their relevance to movement and rehabilitation.
• Integrate appropriate strength, conditioning and corrective exercise into wider recovery programmes.
• Develop a practical understanding of nutrition for athletic performance, training and recovery.
• Combine massage with facilitated stretching, remedial cupping and movement-based approaches.

Course content

Eight connected areas of sports-massage education.

Curriculum area 01

Sports Massage Foundations

Establish a structured approach to sports-massage assessment, treatment planning, tissue preparation, recovery and communication with active clients.

Core diploma learning Curriculum area 02

Sports and Orthopaedic Massage

Explore practical massage strategies for active clients, common soft-tissue presentations, injury care and a supported return to movement.

Presented by Bob McAtee LMT BCTMB Curriculum area 03

Facilitated Stretching

Learn how therapist-assisted stretching can be selected, positioned and controlled according to mobility, comfort and the wider treatment objective.

Presented by Bob McAtee LMT BCTMB Curriculum area 04

Biomechanics and Movement

Examine upper- and lower-body biomechanics, movement relationships and compensatory patterns relevant to treatment and rehabilitation planning.

Presented by Phillipa Butler PT MSCP Curriculum area 05

Strength and Conditioning for Rehabilitation

Explore progressive strength and conditioning strategies that may support injury prevention, rehabilitation and a structured return to physical activity.

Presented by Mike McGurn BSc Curriculum area 06

Sports Injury Exercise

Consider exercise selection and progression for common sports-related presentations, with attention to movement quality, tolerance and practical coaching.

Presented by Dani Marks MSc CPT Curriculum area 07

Sports Nutrition

Develop an evidence-informed understanding of nutrition for training, performance and recovery while recognising the limits of a non-dietitian professional’s scope.

Presented by Steph Hnatiuk BSc RD Curriculum area 08

Remedial Cupping Integration

Explore how decompression-based cupping may be integrated with sports massage, movement and wider rehabilitation goals.

Presented by Rebecca “Becky” Tyler OST SMT PT

These headings summarise the principal learning areas covered across the eight-module programme. The learning platform contains the complete lesson sequence, demonstrations and supporting course resources.

What is included?

A broad professional sports-therapy programme.

• Eight structured online course modules
• Teaching from six experienced specialist presenters
• Expert video classes and practical demonstrations
• Supporting digital course texts and learning resources
• Massage, movement, rehabilitation and performance education
• Online knowledge checks and final assessment
• Downloadable NAT diploma after successful completion
• Subtitles in English, French, German and Spanish
• Flexible, self-paced study with ongoing course access

Suitability

Designed for qualified hands-on professionals

• Massage and sports massage therapists
• Manual and soft-tissue therapists
• Physical therapists and physiotherapists
• Athletic trainers and rehabilitation professionals
• Osteopaths and chiropractors
• Other appropriately qualified hands-on practitioners

This is a professional continuing-education course for appropriately qualified practitioners. It does not provide an initial licence to practise massage, qualify learners to diagnose injuries, prescribe medical nutrition therapy or work beyond their legal and professional scope of practice.

Your presenters

Learn from specialists across treatment, movement and performance.

Sports and orthopaedic massage

Bob McAtee LMT BCTMB

Bob McAtee is an internationally respected massage therapist and educator with a career spanning more than four decades.

He specialises in sports and orthopaedic massage and is the author of two bestselling books addressing sports massage, injury care and facilitated stretching.

Strength and conditioning

Mike McGurn BSc

Mike McGurn is a highly experienced strength and conditioning coach whose work has included professional and international rugby, football and university sport.

His experience includes St Helens, the Ireland Rugby Union team, the All Blacks and Manchester United. His teaching connects conditioning with injury avoidance and rehabilitation.

Movement and rehabilitation

Phillipa Butler PT MSCP

Phillipa Butler is a Chartered Physiotherapist with experience across NHS and private-sector rehabilitation following injury, illness and accidents.

She is also trained in Pilates, yoga and meditation, bringing a broad movement-based perspective to biomechanics, rehabilitation and safe exercise.

Sports nutrition

Steph Hnatiuk BSc RD

Steph Hnatiuk is a Registered Dietitian and fitness coach with more than ten years of experience supporting performance, body composition and healthier relationships with food and exercise.

Her teaching translates evidence-informed sports nutrition into clear and sustainable guidance for athletes and the professionals who support them.

Performance and exercise coaching

Dani Marks MSc CPT

Dani Marks is an experienced fitness coach and former NCAA Division I and professional soccer player. He captained Penn State’s varsity soccer team for three seasons.

His teaching brings an athlete-informed perspective to exercise coaching, rehabilitation and the practical demands of competitive sport.

Osteopathy and remedial cupping

Rebecca “Becky” Tyler OST SMT PT

Becky Tyler is an experienced osteopath, sports massage therapist, movement therapist and educator with more than 13 years of clinical and teaching experience.

Her background includes paediatric osteopathy, personal training and work with high-level sportspeople. She teaches practitioners how to integrate cupping with movement and wider treatment goals.

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