Exercise Science vs. Sports Medicine: The Differences

Key Takeaways

Sports medicine focuses on treating and preventing sports injuries, while exercise science helps people get fit through exercise.
Sports medicine involves doctors, trainers, and therapists who treat injuries using surgery, therapy, 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.

Do you enjoy helping people get fit and healthy through exercise? Or are you more interested in treating sports injuries to help athletes recover? Exercise science and sports medicine both improve physical performance and movement. But, they do so in very different ways.

This article will explain the key differences between these two areas so you can better understand which career path might be right for you.

“Sport science and sports medicine are both targeted practices related to exercise science. While both involve the unique needs of athletes, their scope differs dramatically.” – Kaiser University

Related

What is Sports Medicine?

Sports medicine is a field of healthcare that deals with injuries and medical issues related to sports and exercise. Professionals in sports medicine focus on preventing, diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating injuries. These injuries happen to athletes and active people. Some key aspects of sports medicine include:

Evaluating and treating acute sports injuries like sprains, strains, and fractures
Identifying and managing chronic overuse injuries from repetitive motions
Developing rehabilitation programs using exercises and therapies to recover from injuries
Providing emergency medical care for injuries during sports events
Screening athletes to assess risks and prevent future injury

Doctors, trainers, and therapists work in sports medicine. They are specialized medical providers. They use techniques like surgery, drugs, physical therapy, and braces/taping. They use them to get athletes back to playing shape.

Benefits of Sports Medicine Degree

Ability to work directly with athletes at all levels – youth, high school, college, pro
An exciting career helping people overcome injuries and return to peak performance
Opportunity to be part of a sports team’s medical staff and travel to events
Good salary potential, especially for roles like an orthopedic surgeon or team physician
You can open a private sports medicine clinic to provide care in your community

What is Exercise Science?

Exercise science focuses on how the body responds to physical activity and exercise. It covers topics like how the body works during exercise. It includes biomechanics, fitness tests, making exercise plans, and sports nutrition. The goal is to help develop safe, effective exercise plans.

Exercise science professionals include personal trainers, strength coaches, group fitness instructors, and more. Their role is to properly educate and train people on exercise techniques and programming – not medically treat injuries. Key responsibilities in exercise science:

Evaluating clients’ fitness levels through assessments and testing
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 management

Benefits of Exercise Science Degree

Chance to directly improve people’s health, fitness, and quality of life
Ability to work one-on-one with clients or lead group fitness classes
Flexible career options in gyms, health clubs, recreation centers, and private training
Opportunity to become an entrepreneur with your own personal training business
Potential to also teach courses or work in corporate wellness programs.

Exercise Science vs Sports Medicine

Perhaps the best thing to do when comparing exercise science and sports medicine is to look at them this way:

Exercise Science

Focuses on the body’s responses to physical activity and exercise.
Studies topics like exercise physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and fitness assessments.
Helps develop safe, effective exercise programs for the general population.
Trains professionals like personal trainers, strength coaches, and group fitness instructors.
Provides education on proper exercise techniques and programming.

Sports Medicine

Deals with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of sports-related injuries.
Involves medical professionals like doctors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers.
Treats acute injuries from sports as well as overuse injuries.
Uses techniques like surgery, medications, physical therapy, and injury screening.
Provides medical care and recovery plans specific to athletes.

Key Differences:

Exercise science is more focused on exercise programming and fitness for the general public.
Sports medicine concentrates on evaluating and treating injuries, especially for athletes.
Exercise science does not require a medical degree or clinical training.
Sports medicine involves extensive medical education and clinical practice.

Overlaps:

Both share some common knowledge areas like anatomy, kinesiology, and exercise physiology.
Sports medicine professionals utilize exercise for injury rehabilitation.
Exercise science provides conditioning programs to help prevent sports injuries.

Exercise science and sports medicine have distinct educational paths, but some overlapping knowledge areas. Exercise science equips trainers to develop safe, effective fitness programs. Sports medicine trains medical providers to medically treat sports injuries.

Exercise Science and Sports Medicine Careers

Both exercise science and sports medicine offer rewarding careers. However, the job paths in the two fields are quite different. Sports medicine careers work hands-on with treating injuries and rehabilitating athletes. Exercise science focuses on fitness programs and teaching for clients/populations.

Career Paths in Sports Medicine

Orthopedic Surgeon -Performs surgeries to treat sports injuries like torn ligaments or joint issues.

Sports Medicine Physician -A doctor who specializes in nonsurgical treatment of athletic injuries.

Athletic Trainer – Provides first aid for injuries and develops rehab programs for athletes.

Physical Therapist -Helps athletes recover from injuries through therapeutic exercises and other treatments.

Kinesio Therapist – Specializes in functional movement analysis and rehab for musculoskeletal injuries.

These careers in sports medicine require much schooling. They also need clinical training, licensing, and often a doctorate in medicine. Sports medicine professionals work in settings like:

Professional and collegiate sports teams
Sports medicine clinics and hospitals
Private physical therapy practices
Fitness and rehabilitation centers

Career Paths in Exercise Science

Personal Trainer – Works one-on-one with clients to achieve their fitness goals.

Strength and Conditioning Coach – Design exercise programs for athletes to improve performance.

Group Fitness Instructor – Leads group exercise classes like cycling, yoga, boot camp, etc.

Health Coach/Educator – Provides lifestyle coaching on nutrition, exercise and wellness.

Exercise Physiologist – Conducts fitness assessments and develops customized exercise prescriptions.

Most of these careers can be pursued after earning a bachelor’s degree or certification from an accredited program. Exercise science professionals may find jobs in:

Gyms and health clubs
College/university recreation centers
Corporate wellness programs
Private training studios
Community recreation departments

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Exercise science focuses on making safe and effective workout programs and teaching these to people. On the other hand, sports medicine deals with the medical side of sports. It involves diagnosing and treating. This is to help athletes recover from sports-related injuries and health issues.

Both fields share basic knowledge about human anatomy and how the body works during exercise. However, the education, job duties, and certifications for careers in these fields are very different.

Difference Between Exercise Science and Sports Medicine