Matt Phillips
Running Injury Specialist, Host of the STA Podcast
Matt Phillips is a Running Injury & Performance Specialist. He created his website Runchatlive.com to help runners & therapists evolve from outdated ideas & embrace a more evidence-informed approach to running injury prevention & management. His popular CPD Course ‘Gait Analysis For Runners: A Modern Approach’ is run in association with The ST School. A popular speaker at national & international conferences, Matt has written for numerous websites & magazines, and spent time in Nairobi helping set up one of the first Gait Analysis stores in Kenya. He is well known as host of the Sports Therapy Association Podcast and Runchatlive Podcast.
Welcome Plenary
Saturday Sep 20th: Main Theatre
09:00 – 09:40
In this welcome plenary, Andy Hosgood, Business Coach & Mentor, and Matt Phillips, Running Injury & Performance Specialist, will explain how this event has been designed to be so much more than just another conference. It is a powerful expression of collaboration where the STA South West Regional programme meets the broader Hands-On Hub agenda, blending professional CPD with a wider invitation to connect across disciplines and practice boundaries. The focus for the two days will truly be on YOU and your PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. Yes, the fantastic theory & practical sessions will develop your knowledge & skills, but their focus will also be on MEANING & PURPOSE.
Conference Goals:
✨ Deepen your skills and connect with evidence-informed practice.
🍲 Show how to apply research to real clinical settings.
💛 Explore modern manual and movement-based approaches.
✨ Provide a safe and stimulating space to truly connect, share ideas and learn from each other.
🍲 Facilitate collaboration and self-reflection to foster continuous improvement & growth.
💛 Give you the tools & confidence to evaluate & evolve your individual practice.
Mindful Strides: Communication Skills When Working With Runners
Sunday Sep 21st: Main Theatre
10:30 – 11:10
As health care professionals, the more we embrace modern, evidence-informed practice, the more we become aware of the hugely important role communication skills play in helping our patients & clients achieve their recovery & performance goals. Rather than blaming clients for ‘not doing what we told them’, we now understand that achieving a behaviour or lifestyle change, even if temporary, is often not as easy as it sounds, and as therapists we can often be the catalyst for success or failure.
In this session, Matt Phillips, Running Injury & Performance Specialist, will share examples he uses on his CPD course ‘Gait Analysis For Runners: A Modern Approach’ to illustrate how small, simple tweaks to our normal way of communicating can help clients & patients embrace positive, meaningful behaviour change, and see opportunity in our professional advice rather than hinderance & challenge.
Three key principles you’ll take away:
✨ Understanding how evidence-informed practice helps therapists rather than challenges us.
🍲 A selection of simple, effective ways to improve our communication with patients & clients.
💛 A view of commonly overlooked factors when dealing with Running Injury & Performance.
