A professional American football league known as The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that runs for 18 weeks. The NFL is the only sport that has the highest average attendance for the professional sports league. It consists of 32 teams, and each member of all the thirty-two teams individually gets their physical therapist. These 32 teams split into two groups, 16 teams in each group. The physical therapists of each at least are professionals, and to be a part of the NFL team, they should be licensed, efficient, experienced, skillful, expert, qualified with a doctoral degree, and specialized in their work.
The Physical therapist is the professional who helps to rehabilitate athletes who have sustained physical injuries. They only use stretching and strengthening exercises and some tools to foster orthopedic recovery.
What does the Physical therapist of the NFL do?
The physical therapist of the NFL team works individually with the players. They help players by sustaining their injuries. They help in strengthening their muscles and increase their flexibility and mobility so that they recover quickly. Hamstring strains, Cartilage injuries, Ankle sprains, and plantar fasciitis are some most common injuries they treat.
Physical therapist salary in NFL
The salary ranges depend on Various factors such as education, certifications, additional skills, experience, and numbers of years spent in the therapist profession.
The salary of the physical therapist in the NFL ranges from $75,000 to over $150, 00.
The median salary of the NFL physical therapist is $89,440 (according to the 2019 report). The highest-paid 25 percent of physical therapists get $104,210 per year. The lowest-paid 25 Percent of the NFL physical therapists earn $73,940 per year.
Doing an internship or part-time job with an NFL team does not guarantee a full-time Position or permanent position, but it may increase your chances. Every Physical therapist of the NFL should have a certified license in a PT.
Some of the injuries that physical therapist treats are:
- Ankle sprains
- Fractures
- Knee and shoulder injuries
- Cartilage injuries
- Concussions
How do they join the NFL?
Most students after their bachelor’s could get employed in the National Football League as athlete’s trainers in summer intern working training camps. When they complete their master’s or doctoral degree in sports medicine, they can apply for a physical therapist job in the NFL with certification and license.
Outlook for Physical Therapists in the NFL.
The BLS projected that the salary and the job volume of the physical therapist are growing faster. They said that this field grows up to 18% from 2019 and 2029, with 47,000 Employment.
Do NFL teams have a physical therapist?
High-intensity sports such as football need players to participate actively in physical things. A physical therapist provides numerous benefits to professional athletes.
For example, Athletes go through injuries now and then because they do physical work like running, exercising practice, and physical activity, this could lead to some injuries, so it’s necessary to have a physical therapist on the NFL team. In the NFL team, each athletics has its physical therapy specialists to provide services whenever they need.
There are benefits that athletes get from a physical therapist are listed below. Let us know about it.
1- Benefits to Improve flexibility and mobility: Physical therapists help athletes to strengthen their muscles and increase their flexibility and mobility of the body.
Decrease their risk of injuries which can happen during exercise, practice, or games.
2- Quicker injury recovery: Physical therapists help them to recover from injuries.
They create individual treatment plans for athletes.
They design different stretches and exercises to increase the functionality and strengths of the athletes.
3- Helps in Increasing speed and strength: An athlete can improve their skills with the help of their physical therapist.
Physical therapy also helps athletes to increase their power.
Under the parenting of physical therapists, athletes can gain speed and strength both on and off of the field.
Ways to get hired as a physical therapist at NFL
The educational path to becoming a physical therapist at the NFL is similar to becoming a licensed doctor. The jobs require a doctoral or professional degree from a CAPTE-accredited program. After completing these courses or programs, you have to get a license by giving the licensing test.
You cannot get the job of Physical therapist at the NFL without socializing in sports medicine as a physical therapist.
Step 1: Need to get a bachelor’s degree – when you are doing your bachelor’s degree, you need to study biology, physiology, biochemistry, or bio-medicine majorly.
Step 2: Masters or doctoral degree- After completing a bachelor’s degree, now you can apply for Master’s and doctoral degrees. Once you start your study in either of the degrees, you will gain practical knowledge as while studying you will work with senior doctors and professionals. Complete the degree and go for a licensing test.
Step 3: Physical Therapy license – To work as a physical therapist, you need to get licensed. You have to Pass National Physical Therapy Examination to work in America.
Step 4: Sports Certified – To get a job in the NFL team, you need to become a specialist in sports physical therapy. For this, you need to pass the certification exam.
The requirement to get certification:
A- You must apply and qualify in the Sports Specialization Certification Exam
B- Must you must have CPR training
C- Must have emergency care training
D- Must have direct patient care experience.
Step5: Experience- You must have the working experience to get a job in the NFL team.
Job opportunity in NFL team
The number of job openings as a physical therapist is limited in NFL teams. The job opening is limited because there is only a limited number of NFL teams.
However, the number of job opportunities is going to increase in the coming year.
Is there any female therapist on the NFL team?
Yes, there is a female therapist on the NFL team. Dr. Robin West became the first female head physician in the NFL team who headed the doctor’s team.
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