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Sports athletic trainer vs sports physical therapist

The differences between sports athletic trainers and sports physical therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sports physical therapist has an average salary of $67,105, which is higher than the $48,071 average annual salary of a sports athletic trainer.

The top three skills for a sports athletic trainer include rehabilitation, patient care and CPR. The most important skills for a sports physical therapist are physical therapy, patient care, and rehabilitation.

Sports athletic trainer vs sports physical therapist overview

Sports Athletic TrainerSports Physical Therapist
Yearly salary$48,071$67,105
Hourly rate$23.11$32.26
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs57,25670,367
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4041
Years of experience4-

Sports athletic trainer vs sports physical therapist salary

Sports athletic trainers and sports physical therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Sports Athletic TrainerSports Physical Therapist
Average salary$48,071$67,105
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $65,000Between $41,000 And $107,000
Highest paying CityWilmington, DE-
Highest paying stateHawaii-
Best paying companyBaptist Health Care-
Best paying industry--

Differences between sports athletic trainer and sports physical therapist education

There are a few differences between a sports athletic trainer and a sports physical therapist in terms of educational background:

Sports Athletic TrainerSports Physical Therapist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorAthletic TrainingPhysical Therapy
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Sports athletic trainer vs sports physical therapist demographics

Here are the differences between sports athletic trainers' and sports physical therapists' demographics:

Sports Athletic TrainerSports Physical Therapist
Average age4041
Gender ratioMale, 68.3% Female, 31.7%Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 8.5% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 12.4% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%12%

Differences between sports athletic trainer and sports physical therapist duties and responsibilities

Sports athletic trainer example responsibilities.

  • Cover athletic events for football, soccer, basketball, track and field, baseball and softball, including travel.
  • Coordinate game day operations, travel arrangements and provide medical coverage for football, women's volleyball, and aquatics.
  • Maintain personal health information pertinent to require records for rehabilitation, fitness/wellness, and injury prevention programming.
  • Comply with all NCAA and NATA code of ethics, rules, and regulations.
  • Instruct and certify coaches, teacher, and other staff in CPR and first aid.
  • Work in-season with tennis and out-of-season with field hockey, women's soccer, and men's soccer.
  • Show more

Sports physical therapist example responsibilities.

  • Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
  • Administer therapeutic hot packs, cold packs and personally handle various electrical stimulation treatments; ultrasound, electrical stimulation.
  • Employ at an out-patient orthopedic clinic with primary goal for patient return to work, ADL, or sports/recreation activities.

Sports athletic trainer vs sports physical therapist skills

Common sports athletic trainer skills
  • Rehabilitation, 28%
  • Patient Care, 17%
  • CPR, 17%
  • Student Athletes, 7%
  • Athletic Events, 3%
  • Athletic Injuries, 3%
Common sports physical therapist skills
  • Physical Therapy, 43%
  • Patient Care, 27%
  • Rehabilitation, 26%
  • Injury Prevention, 1%
  • PTA, 1%
  • Primary Care, 1%

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