ABOUT PHIL EVANS
About Phil Evans
MSc Physiotherapy
Chartered Physiotherapist | Over-50s Specialist | MSc Physiotherapy, BSc Sports Rehabilitation
Over-50s Specialist
BSc Sports Rehabilitation
Founder, Urban Body
Chartered Physiotherapist
Author, Built to Last After 50
ELITE SPORT
Where it began
I started my career at Loughborough University Performance Centre, working in a high-performance environment, mainly with rugby players, before moving into elite sport.
In that world, there’s no room for guesswork.
If something isn’t working, you find out why, fix it properly, and build it back stronger. Because if an athlete can’t move well, they can’t perform.
Simple as that.
From there, I went on to work with Leicestershire County Cricket Club, GB Judo, GB Bobsleigh, and athletes preparing for the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
That environment sharpens how you think.
You stop chasing symptoms, you look for the cause and you focus on what actually changes performance.
That way of working stayed with me.
It’s also backed by my training in Sports Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy - but more importantly, by seeing what actually works when the pressure is real and results matter.
Loughborough University
Leicestershire County Cricket
GB Judo
GB Bobsleigh
London 2012 Olympics
Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
WHAT I STARTED TO SEE
A completely different picture
When I moved into private practice, I saw a completely different picture.
People over 50 were coming in with stiff, painful joints — often confused, frustrated, and unsure what to do next.
Most had already been to their GP and had been told the same thing:
“It’s just wear and tear.”
They'd been given painkillers, a photocopied exercise sheet, or put on a waiting list.
But rarely a clear plan.
And almost never an explanation that actually made sense.
THE REAL PROBLEM
What I was actually seeing
What I was seeing didn't match the story people were being told.
Most of the time, it wasn't joints wearing out.
Your joints aren't the problem — they're the thing taking the load.
What I see far more often is strength that's just dropped off — and by the time people notice it, things are already harder than they should be.
After 40, we start to lose muscle each year if we don't actively maintain it — around 1% a year.
That's one of the biggest predictors of whether you stay independent as you get older.
Left long enough, that gap builds. That's when things start to change.
Stairs feel harder, walks get shorter, and you start to second-guess what your body can handle. That's when confidence drops.
The body hasn't failed. No one's shown you what to do next.
URBAN BODY
Building something different
That’s what led me to start Urban Body Physiotherapy in Solihull.
I took the same high-performance approach used in elite sport and applied it to people over 50 who had been told to “just manage it.”
It started in my parents’ front room - testing whether that level of clarity and structure could work outside of professional sport.
It did.
We focus on understanding what’s actually driving the problem and building a plan around that - the same approach I used in elite sport.
When it adds value, we use tools like hyperbaric oxygen therapy, red light therapy, and Neubie, but the foundation is always the same: getting you moving well and building strength.
Today, Urban Body has grown into one of the West Midlands’ leading physiotherapy clinics, with over 500 five-star reviews.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
20+
Years in practice
Neubie stimulation
500+
Five-star reviews
1000s
Patients helped
Red light therapy
NEW RELEASE
Built To Last After 50
Everything I've learned over the last 20 years — in elite sport, in clinic, and from thousands of patients — is brought together in Built To Last After 50.
It's written for people who've been told to "just manage it" and know that's not good enough.
There's no complicated language and no guesswork — just a clear plan you can actually follow.
It's the book your GP didn't write, but probably wanted to.
Includes access to The Vault — a digital clinical resource with guided videos, so you can see exactly how everything should look and feel in practice.
TODAY
The mission hasn’t changed
These days, I split my time between leading Urban Body, creating content, and helping people who are ready to stop guessing and start getting real answers.
I live in Solihull with my partner Steph and our three children — Sydney, Hugo, and Max.
And I still see the same thing every week in clinic:
people being told to slow down — when what they actually need is a better plan.
You don't need to accept decline.
You need to understand what your body actually needs.
That's when things start to change.
Ready to find out what's really going on?
Take the free 2-minute quiz and get a personalised answer based on where you are right now.