The Association for Soft Tissue Therapists
About the ISRM
Originally called the Institute of Sport and Remedial Massage, ISRM became the Institute for Soft Tissue Therapists in 2010 because of the developments we made to our training programme.
ISRM Education
ISRM is a registered BTEC* centre which has established the BTEC Level 5 Professional Diploma in Soft Tissue Therapy. It licenses a number of small independent schools who run the qualification. We work very closely with the schools, providing support and tutor training to ensure quality and consistence across all training venues. ISRM operates the internal validation process which is externally validated by BTEC.
ISRM Membership
ISRM is also a professional association representing the interests of Soft Tissue Therapist. It
maintains a register of qualified therapist/members and provides:
*BTEC is the largest Government-approved awarding body for vocational education and training in the UK, covering over 1 million students a year at schools, colleges and Universities. The BTEC Level 5 Professional Diploma in Soft Tissue Therapy is the only one of its kind in the UK. It exists on their Customised Qualification Framework (CQF) which means it can operate in the private (not State funded) education sector and is not openly available to colleges or universities.
Our History
ISRM was formed in 2005 by Mel Cash but its origin goes back to 1989 when the London School of Sports Massage LSSM began. This started the first externally validated Sports Massage qualification in the UK which many others later copied.
The LSSM banded together a small group of pioneering massage therapists who developed the qualification over the years. Introducing more advanced clinical skills and methods that were better meeting the needs of their clients, and also helping their careers. This led to the first qualification in Sport and Remedial Massage in 1988, which a few others tried to copy.
The clinical skills we were now teaching had much wider application and could offer real benefits to all people suffering with minor and chronic injuries. Over subsequent years the qualification continued to develop in this direction and in 2016 we established the first Soft Tissue Therapy qualification.
Along the way the ISRM was formed initially to enable other schools to run the same qualification through our internal validation process and regulated by BTEC. As the number of qualified therapists grew it then became necessary for it to also become a Professional Association which could represent the needs of the new level of clinical therapist we were creating.