The Sports Therapy Association are a member-focussed professional body that aims to provide open, honest, and ethical guidance to Sports Therapists, Soft Tissue Therapists and Sports Injury Professionals, setting a new gold standard in professional representation across the United Kingdom.  

The Sports Therapy Association Podcast was created in late 2020 to help support soft tissue therapists return to work as Covid-19 pandemic restrictions started to be eased. Matt Phillips of Runchatlive joined forces with Gary Benson, founder of the Sports Therapy Association to answer the many questions soft tissue therapists across the UK had, with podcast episodes being recorded via live video stream on the Sports Therapy Association YouTube channel  at 8pm every Tuesday, and then being uploaded as audio to all popular podcast apps, including Spotify. 

Before long, the podcast started featuring guests in each episode: specialists from the world of healthcare to cover not only sports therapy, rehab & massage, but also topics such as male & female pelvic health, mental health, rheumatology, pain science, hypermobility, endometriosis, sleep science, nutrition, and so much more. The podcast guests also became speakers at Therapy Expo in the STA Therapy Update Theatre and also in the main theatres, as indeed is the case this year at Therapy Expo 2024.  
 
Over 200 weeks & 200 weekly streams later, the podcast is still going strong and is now used across the country for educational purposes, including Sports Therapy and Physiotherapy degree courses. Host Matt Phillips comments 

 "The main goal of our podcast has always been to provide a safe, non-threatening learning space for soft tissue therapists, to help with the often-daunting task of becoming more evidence informed. A lot of the information still taught on mainstream therapy courses is sadly outdated and does need tweaking, which can be frustrating & scary for therapists to discover. Our podcast doesn't judge, doesn't talk down; it's a safe, happy place for therapists to evolve, and benefit from the wonderful support from our community."  

The Sports Therapy Association Podcast is recorded via live video stream on the Sports Therapy Association YouTube channel  at 8pm every Tuesday, and then uploaded as audio to all popular podcast apps, including Spotify. 

This week’s episode featured Therapy Expo’s very own Vernon Smeed, Business Development Manager, and Molly Benson, Content Producer as they explore what attendees can expect from this year’s show.  

 

Check it out on Apple Podcast and Spotify.  

As an education partner of Therapy Expo, the STA will be hosting the STA Therapy Updates Theatre at the 2024 show. This year’s programme will feature interactive Q&A-style sessions with speakers from the main theatres, offering attendees a chance to delve deeper into the session content. Check out some STA programme highlights below: 

‘Muscles and tendons – menstrual, maternal & menopausal influences: a Q&A with Michelle Lyons’  

Are muscles and tendons affected by hormones? Yes! What do the hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle mean for training but also for therapy? Does REDs influence injuries/recovery? What do we need to consider when working with athletes returning to sport/exercise after giving birth? What are the musculoskeletal issues that affect Masters athletes? And of course, what are the evidence-based strategies for keeping our female athletes enjoying exercise and sport at every age & stage? This presentation will review the evidence for integrating hormonal changes into treatment planning and translate it into clinically applicable strategies. 

27 November, 9:35-10:00, with Michelle Lyons, Women’s Health Physiotherapist, Celebrate Muliebrity 

‘The patient no one told you how to treat: a Q&A with Alistair Beverley’  

Many of us will feel our training did a good job at teaching us how to support patients. However, I can bet there are around 1.5 million people in the UK for whom many of us would struggle to support clinically. More than this, there are so many skills you can take from learning how best to support these patients that will benefit you with every single person you see for the rest of your career. I'm talking about people with a Learning Disability. If you'd like to know how to broaden your horizons and patient groups, whilst also providing more holistic, complete care to all of your patients then come along to this presentation. 

27 November, 14:25 – 14:50, with Alistair Beverley, Director, The LD Physio 

‘Client retention: the superpower for business growth: a Q&A with Andy Hosgood’  

Do you know what the “actual cost” of acquiring a client in your business is? Especially when add up the time cost, effort cost, together with your financial costs? It’s more than you think! This is why client retention is the superpower for long term clinic growth. Take the opportunity learn from Andy's 20-year experience in this unique Q&A opportunity.  

28 November, 11:40 – 12:05, with Andy Hosgood, Co-Founder, Elevate Your Clinic  

Click HERE to check out the rest of the STA Therapy Updates Theatre programme.