From Sports Therapy to Integrative Health

The Evolution of Active Health Group

When we first started Active Health Group over 25 years ago, our focus was on Sports Therapy and soft tissue work. Back then, it was a growing field, and we were one of the early pioneers offering advanced-level qualifications and real-world practitioner training. Our mission was always clear: to raise standards, support learners, and help therapists build meaningful, sustainable careers.

For years, we did exactly that. We trained thousands of brilliant practitioners. And many of them are still out there today, doing exceptional work. But over time, the landscape began to shift. Not overnight. Gradually. And so did we.

What we started to notice was that more and more clients weren’t just looking for someone to ease a physical complaint, they wanted to understand why their symptoms kept returning. They were dealing with chronic stress, burnout, gut issues, fatigue, emotional overload. They needed more than physical therapy.

At the same time, our own graduates were evolving. So many of them were adding new strings to their bow, studying nutrition, stress management, breathwork, coaching, trauma awareness. They weren’t leaving the field, they were expanding it.

We realised we were no longer just a Sports Therapy training school. We were becoming something broader. More integrative. More in tune with what real people actually need.

We’re incredibly proud of the legacy we’ve built, not just as an organisation, but through the people who’ve trained with us. Over the past two decades, we’ve seen AHG-trained Sports Therapists practising across the UK and around the world, from private clinics to elite sports teams, wellness centres to rehabilitation programmes.

Now, that same global reach is happening again, this time with our Integrative Health and Health Coaching graduates. We’ve got coaches supporting clients on five continents, working in everything from NHS-linked services and private practice to corporate wellbeing, online platforms, and retreats. Some are blending modalities, others are leading in specialist areas like gut health, trauma-informed care, metabolic resilience, or cancer recovery.

It’s an honour to see so many of our alumni, past and present, out there doing real, meaningful work. We haven’t just trained practitioners. We’ve built a movement of smart, ethical, grounded professionals who genuinely care about the people they serve.

But, the world is changing fast, and people’s health concerns are more complex than ever. The rise in autoimmune conditions, long Covid, hormone imbalances, mental health challenges, and chronic stress has made it clear that single-modality approaches just aren’t enough.

That’s why we’ve embraced Integrative Health, an approach that sees the whole person, not just the symptom. It blends the best of conventional knowledge with lifestyle medicine, functional health, coaching, somatics, nervous system regulation, and more.

It’s no wonder the NHS, corporate wellness programmes, and community health initiatives are now starting to talk about Integrative Health as the future. It’s what people are asking for. And it’s what practitioners need to be equipped for.

It might look like we’ve stepped away from Sports Therapy. In truth, we’ve simply stepped forward into the next chapter of our journey. And what’s been especially meaningful is that we’re not doing it alone. We’re bringing our graduates with us.

Some of our earliest students—those who trained with us 10, 15, even 25 years ago—are now returning to study health coaching, integrative nutrition, trauma-responsive practice, and other new disciplines with us. They’re building on their hands-on foundation and stepping into a more holistic way of working. They’re finding renewed purpose. They’re adapting their businesses. And they’re still part of the AHG community, and evolving with it.

Our job now is to support that evolution. To create high-quality, flexible, meaningful training that helps practitioners grow, not just professionally, but personally.

We’re not here to chase trends or package up wellness into something shiny. We’re here to do the deep work. To give people the skills, insight, and support they need to offer truly client-centred, sustainable health and wellbeing services. We still value the hands-on work that brought us to where we are. But we also recognise that the future of practitioner training lies in integration, collaboration, and root-cause support.

What’s Next? We’re finalising our full Integrative Health training model now, and we can’t wait to share it with you. Whether you trained with us two decades ago or joined us recently, you’re still part of this journey. You’re invited to grow with us, just as we’ve grown with you.

We’ll be sharing more at our 25th Anniversary Conference in October, where we’ll celebrate our legacy, but more importantly, we’ll lay the foundations for where we’re going next.

The future of health isn’t about fixing people. It’s about understanding them. And that’s the kind of practitioner we train. If you’re ready for that next step, we’re right here beside you.