In the UK, the sports massage profession is not regulated by a statutory governing body like other healthcare professions for several reasons:
1. Non-Medical Classification
Sports massage is considered complementary therapy rather than a primary medical treatment. As a result, it is often viewed as supplementary to other treatments, like physiotherapy or osteopathy, which are regulated professions. Since sports massage focuses on improving performance, aiding recovery, and preventing injuries, it falls into the category of wellness or physical enhancement rather than medical intervention, which reduces the urgency for strict regulation.
2. No Single Governing Body
There is no central regulatory body dedicated to sports massage alone in the UK. While some professional organisations, such as the SMA, offer certification, accreditation, and professional standards, these are voluntary and not backed by statutory regulation. Without a statutory body setting legal standards, it remains an unregulated profession.
3. Overlap with Other Regulated Professions
In the UK, sports massage often overlaps with other professions such as physiotherapy and osteopathy, which are regulated under the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and General Osteopathic Council (GOsC), respectively. Practitioners in these fields may offer sports massage as part of their treatment, so the specific practice of sports massage does not require its own regulation.
4. Diverse Training and Qualification Pathways
Sports massage training can vary widely in terms of quality and depth. Courses range from short-term certifications to more extensive qualifications like Level 3, 4 and 5 diplomas. The diversity in training makes it difficult to establish a unified standard for the profession, which is a key factor in statutory regulation. Voluntary organisations like the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and National Occupational Standards (NOS) set professional guidelines, but these are not legally enforced.
5. Self-Regulation and Professional Organisations
While not legally regulated, sports massage therapists in the UK often choose to be part of voluntary regulatory bodies like the CNHC, which require adherence to codes of ethics, insurance, and professional standards. This self-regulation reduces the pressure for statutory regulation, as many therapists voluntarily follow industry best practices.
6. Public Demand and Risk Perception
Unlike professions that deal directly with high-risk medical treatments or diagnoses, sports massage is generally perceived as low risk. Public demand for strict regulation is lower because the potential for harm is considered less compared to more invasive or medical treatments. Clients typically seek sports massage for performance enhancement, muscle relaxation, or injury prevention, which are considered safer than clinical interventions.
In conclusion, the UK’s sports massage profession remains unregulated largely due to its classification as a complementary therapy, the lack of a centralised statutory body, and its perceived low risk. Instead, the profession currently relies on self-regulation through voluntary membership of professional associations. This is not a situation the SMA considers acceptable, and we work tirelessly to campaign for statutory regulation.
Level 3 qualifications (from around 2010) are based upon working with non-pathological tissue, in other words, the training does not include information about assessing and treating injuries. Aches and pains of a postural source may be helped by a treatment, but it is outside of scope of practise to work on tissue that is damaged. Massage techniques included are effleurage, petrissage, simple frictions, tapotement, vibrations, compressions and passive stretching. Treatments are based on pre, inter/intra and post event massage. Level 3 qualifications, on the whole tend to be knowledge based.
Level 4 qualifications contain knowledge and practical skills working with pathological tissue but only of a muscular, bone or tendinous source. You will have been taught assessment techniques and orthopaedic tests to make a judgement about the source of injury and treatment techniques. Massage techniques included are soft tissue release, connective tissue techniques, corrective frictions, trigger points and myofascial release. Level 4 qualifications tend to assess the application of knowledge, in other words, taking the knowledge and applying it in different situations.
Level 5 qualifications again is working with pathological tissue and includes ligament and neural injuries. Assessment, and treatment of these injuries are included in the qualification. Massage techniques included are further myofascial techniques, positional release, active isolated stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). Level 5 qualifications ask the student to take the knowledge, apply it in various situations and be able to justify or analyse what they have done. As you can see, there are increasing levels of understanding and application of knowledge as the levels increase.
Besides the content differences mentioned above, there are escalating levels of educational demands. At level 3 the requirements are the recollection of knowledge and basic demonstration of practical skills acquired, at level 4 qualifications tend to assess the application of knowledge and practical skills in different situations and level 5 qualifications ask the learner to justify or analyse the treatment carried out.
The SMA are aware that there are many different qualifications gained prior to 2010 and these may have content from level 4 or 5 so we look at these separately. We also recognise that experience and CPD can extend the skills and knowledge of a therapist considerably, but formal qualifications are assessed during the process and the student is deemed to have an adequate level of knowledge and can demonstrate competence in practical skills. CPD courses are often not assessed for competence and experience is difficult to quantify so the only definite measure of skill is the qualification you have.
The Level 3 qualification is the entry level qualification to our modality. If delivered correctly, it will give you a really good grounding in delivering a great treatment using the general massage techniques we all love. The SMA has been integral in establishing healthcare practitioner status (under the government's system of professional classification) for therapists qualified at Level 4 and 5 - this is because these higher level qualifications build on the grounding received in Level 3 to add more advanced, remedial massage techniques and a greater knowledge of pathophysiology that enables these therapists to work with injured tissue. This is in line with the National Occupational Standards for Sports Massage Therapy. The Level 3 qualification is a great starting point, but it definitely shouldn't be considered the end point - and our membership structure is designed to reflect this.
The SMA has a reputation for only accepting the best-qualified therapists. We've spent a long time working with various organisations across healthcare and elite sport to get to the point where SMA-registered therapists are trusted to do the job well and this is not something we will give up lightly.
We have spent years campaigning to raise standards in education and in the wider industry but it is a slow process and in the interim we have been compelled to set our own standards on what constitutes a quality education in our field. This means an outright ban on accepting therapists who have completed their training in a way deemed intensive since we believe this constitutes a risk to the wider public, who know very little about what a Sports Massage Therapist should and shouldn't be doing.
Part of our remit as a Professional Association is to protect and inform the general public, alongside promoting the work of our members. We firmly believe that if you wouldn't seek treatment from a physiotherapist who's taken a shortcut to qualification then you shouldn't seek one from someone who trained intensively in our modality either.
SMA members will be assessed for CNHC registration free, as part of their membership package, but non-members will incur an administration fee of £35.
Alongside qualification requirements, it is necessary to demonstrate at least 15 hrs CPD in the previous year and proof of current public liability insurance. Members must ensure their current insurance certificate is uploaded to their membership profile and provide evidence of their CPD in the form of certificates, reviews, self-reflection etc. See SMA CPD information..
The SMA's entrance requirements are of course, about the level of a qualification but also about content. Sports Therapy and Sports Rehabilitation BSc/MSc are level 6/7, however, the main focus of these qualifications is not sports massage; the massage module is often just a unit within the qualification which may only contain basic massage skills; Level 3, (for further information please see the FAQ entitled "What is the difference between the levels of sports massage qualifications?").
To become a full member of the SMA, we need to see evidence that your qualification meets the content requirements of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) CNH27, Provide sports massage therapy to clients. If you wish to check this yourself you can cross-reference your qualification to the NOS, and if you feel it meets the requirement, supply the module information to us as evidence.
Unfortunately, the SMA often cannot obtain the level of detail required for us to assess the content of your course unless you graduated from one of our Accredited schools and your qualification was obtained whilst the university was recognised by us. With this in mind, we ask you to obtain the details of each relevant module.
Please request further information from yvonne@thesma.org
It's important to consider what you want to gain from doing the continued professional development
Do you want to be able to practise the new skill within your treatments, or is it fine-tuning or mastery of skills you already have? If you plan to practise something new, make sure the course is assessed, i.e. at the end of the learning you are assessed for competency both of your knowledge of the subject and your practical skills. Make sure the qualification will allow you to gain insurance to practise once completed.
Otherwise, you will find CPD courses which just provide an attendance certificate, meaning you have observed demonstrations, may have been taught theory, perhaps practised the skill but you have not been assessed as competent and so in this case, you may not be covered by your insurance.
To teach in further education (FE) in the UK when delivering an RQF qualification (the regulator for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) or an SQCF qualification, (the regulator for Scotland), you are required to have a combination of academic, teaching and assessing qualifications.
In the case of a non-regulated qualification offered by a private education provider, they may have different requirements based on the way they self-regulate.
Subject Knowledge: It is a requirement that you hold a qualification at least equivalent to the level at which you wish to teach.
Teaching Qualification: The most common teaching qualification in the UK is the Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training (DET), for Further Education and Training, which is specifically designed for the FE sector. There is also a Level 3 Award in Education and Training and Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training, but these are usually considered too basic for teaching in FE. These qualifications are offered by various institutions and training providers but be aware that evidence for the portfolio can only be obtained whilst working, so you must be actively teaching.
Assessor qualification: To assess students for competence, whether for knowledge and understanding, or practical skills, you need to have, or be working towards, an assessor’s qualification. The qualification required is a Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement, (often known as CAVA). This qualification is offered by many organisations but be aware that evidence for the portfolio can only be obtained while working, so you must be actively assessing.
Experience: Whilst not mandatory, having experience within the industry can be advantageous as you bring real-world experience to the classroom and have better credibility with the learners.
