Exercise Science vs. Athletic Training: The Differences

Key Takeaways

Athletic training focuses on treating and preventing sports injuries, while exercise science helps people get fit through exercise.
Athletic trainers are healthcare providers who treat injuries using therapy, surgery, and other medical techniques.
Exercise science professionals include personal trainers, strength coaches, and fitness instructors who create workout plans and teach exercises.
Both fields require knowledge of the human body and exercise, but have different education and job duties.

Are you interested in a career helping people stay fit and healthy through exercise? Or does helping injured athletes recover and return to their sports sound more appealing? Exercise science and athletic training both improve physical performance and movement. But, they do so in very different ways.

This article will explain the key differences between them. It will help you see which career path might be best for you.

Related

What is Athletic Training?

Athletic training is a healthcare field that deals with injuries related to sports and exercise. Athletic trainers focus on preventing, diagnosing, treating, and rehabbing injuries. They use techniques like taping, braces, medications, surgery, and physical therapy to get athletes back in shape to play. Some key things athletic trainers do include:

Evaluating and treating sudden injuries like sprains, strains, and broken bones
Identifying and managing overuse injuries from repetitive motions
Developing rehab programs with exercises and therapies to recover from injuries
Providing emergency medical care for injuries during sports events
Screening athletes to look for risks and prevent future injuries

Benefits of Athletic Training Degrees

An athletic training degree can lead to a rewarding career. It involves keeping athletes healthy and helping them recover from injuries.

One benefit of an athletic training degree is that it lets you work directly with athletes at all levels. This includes youth athletes, high school teams, college programs, and pro sports teams.

An exciting part of this career is that you get to help athletes recover from injuries. You help them regain their peak abilities through rehabilitation.

Another perk is the opportunity to be a part of a sports team’s medical staff, which may involve traveling to events and games with the team.

Also, athletic training careers tend to have good pay. This is especially true for roles like being a team physician. They work with pro or college-level athletes.

What is Exercise Science?

Exercise science focuses on how the body responds to physical activity and exercise. It looks at topics like how the body works during exercise, exercise testing, making workout plans, and sports nutrition. The goal is to help create safe, effective exercise programs.

Exercise science professionals educate and train people on exercise. They do not treat injuries. Key things they do are:

Evaluating clients’ fitness levels through assessments
Designing customized workout plans to meet clients’ goals
Teaching proper form and breathing for exercises
Providing motivation and accountability to clients
Creating programs for general fitness, strength, conditioning, or weight loss

Benefits of Exercise Science Degrees

Pursuing an exercise science degree can lead to a rewarding career. It centers on promoting wellness and healthy lifestyles for others.

An exercise science degree’s major benefit is that it lets you directly improve people’s health, fitness, and quality of life. You do this through proper exercise programs.

With this degree, you can choose to work one-on-one with clients to make custom fitness plans. Or, you can choose to lead group fitness classes in many places.

An exercise science degree provides many career options. You could work in gyms, health clubs, community centers, and more.

Additionally, this field offers the chance for entrepreneurship. You can start your own personal training business and operate independently.

Exercise Science vs Athletic Training

When comparing athletic training and exercise science, you should look at the main differences. They are:

Exercise Science:

Focuses on the body’s responses to physical activity
Studies topics like exercise, biomechanics, nutrition, fitness tests
Helps create safe exercise programs for the general public
Train professionals like personal trainers and group fitness instructors
Provides education on proper exercise techniques

Athletic Training:

Deals with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehab of sports injuries
Involves medical professionals like athletic trainers and physical therapists
Treats sudden injuries from sports as well as overuse injuries
Uses techniques like surgery, medications, physical therapy, injury screening
Provides medical care and recovery plans specifically for athletes

“The athletic trainer’s strength is their ability to bridge the gap between health care and sports performance in a unique way.” – Marjorie J. Albohm, athletic trainer

Both fields share some basic knowledge about anatomy and how the body works during exercise. However, the education paths, job duties, and certifications are very different. Exercise science focuses on fitness programming and teaching for the general public. Athletic training concentrates on evaluating and medically treating sports injuries, especially in athletes.

Career Paths in Athletic Training and Exercise Science

The careers you can pursue with an athletic training degree also vary from exercise science career paths. Athletic trainers work in healthcare roles focused on treating and preventing sports injuries. They may work with professional sports teams or at colleges/universities. Thay can also work in sports medicine clinics, hospitals, and physical therapy practices. Common athletic training careers include:

Athletic Trainer – Provides first aid for injuries and develops rehab programs for athletes
Physical Therapist – Helps athletes recover from injuries through therapeutic exercises
Kinesio Therapist – Specializes in movement analysis and rehab for muscle/joint injuries

Exercise science graduates can find jobs in gyms and health clubs. Thay also work in recreation centers, corporate wellness programs, and private training studios. With an exercise science degree, possible careers include:

Personal Trainer – Works one-on-one with clients to achieve fitness goals
Strength/Conditioning Coach – Designs exercise programs for athletes to improve performance
Group Fitness Instructor – Leads group exercise classes like cycling, yoga, bootcamps

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Studying exercise science and athletic training requires different educations. They lead to different careers. Exercise science professionals, like personal trainers, create safe exercise programs. These programs improve general fitness and wellness for the public. In contrast, athletic trainers are healthcare providers. They prevent, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate injuries. They focus especially on athletes.

Both fields cover basic anatomy and exercise. But, their job responsibilities differ greatly. Consider your interests and strengths when deciding on a career in exercise science. You can focus on fitness programming or athletic training in sports medicine.

“Athletic trainers are unique health care professionals who specialize in preventing, recognizing, managing and rehabilitating injuries that result from physical activity.” – National Athletic Trainers’ Association

Difference Between Exercise Science and Athletic Training