When Hip Pain Keeps You From Running, Start Here.
For women who are done being told to rest, scale back, and just live with it.
A 12-week, science-backed system that meets your hip where it is - and progressively builds you back to your goals.
Only 15 early access spots available.
Join a small cohort of women going through this together - with live group teaching and Q&A built in.
FROM ZERO MILES TO 7-MILE LONG RUNS — AFTER 4 YEARS OFF
"Signing up for Chelsea's Hip System was a game changer. I hadn't run AT ALL since I had my first child 4 years ago, and with this system , my long runs are at 7 miles already. An absolute dream come true! I originally wanted a quick return to running...and I got that. But what I really gained along the way was a respect for the process and a drive to build a strong foundation for a balanced and strong body as I age. I really want to run FOREVER...not just right now. Chelsea's physiologically-backed approach is really easy to understand and implement. Chelsea has truly changed my life and I'm a full-time believer in her methodology. "'
-Allie
The Expertise Behind The System
10
Years
Doctor of Physical Therapy
200+
Women
treated for outer hip pain
150+
Runners
returned to running
Does this sound like you?
You can get your hip to calm down — until you try to run.
Then the guessing starts:
Push through?
Back off?
Rest more?
Slowly, life begins to shrink around your hip.
And you start to wonder if your running days are behind you.
This system exists so running doesn't have to stay in your past.
This protocol is designed for women with nagging pain on the outside of the hip that shows up in real life and workouts.
Common triggers include:
Lying on your side at night
Sitting or standing for long periods
Hills, stairs or uneven ground
Heavier resistance exercises
Running
WHY THIS KEEPS HAPPENING
When outer hip pain flares, every instinct tells you to rest. So you do.
And it calms down — until you try to run again. Then it's back.
Here's what that cycle is actually doing to your hip:
Each time you take multiple weeks off and restart, it sets you back a little further.
Those weeks off produce changes in your hip tendons that make them more likely to flare up when you push it.
You're not imagining that it's getting harder. It is.
How to break the cycle?
The right stress — applied progressively, at the right time, in the right amount.
That's not what generic exercise lists or rest gives you.
It’s what a system gives you when it starts from your tendon’s actual capacity — not a generic starting line.
That's what this is.
Myth : “I just need to stretch it out.”
Truth: Stretching a hip tendon doesn't release it - it compresses it and can worsen symptoms. This is why your figure-four stretches and foam rolling don’t give a permanent solution.
Myth : “I just need a few weeks off.”
Truth: Rest doesn't heal a hip tendon. It deconditions it, and makes it more sensitive to load when you return. This isn't bad luck. It's biology - and it's often reversible with the right loading protocol.
Myth : “My only option is a steroid injection”
Truth: Repeated corticosteroid injections reduce bone density and weaken tendon tissue over time. For a woman who plans to be running in her 80s, that tradeoff matters.
Why This Works When Everything Else Hasn't
Most hip programs fail for the same reason — they treat everyone the same. This one doesn't.
Unlike generic programs that start everyone at the same place...
This one starts with you — assessed from home
Your results determine everything that follows — your strength exercises, your resistance levels, and your personalized walking or running progression.
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Unlike automated programs that sort you into a template...
You start where your tendon actually is
Your assessment reveals your current tendon capacity. Using the built-in matching guide, you place yourself into one of three science-backed loading phases — so you begin exactly where your tissue can handle, not where a generic program assumes you are.
Built-in decision rules tell you exactly when to progress
The system tells you when to advance, hold steady, or adjust — so you're never guessing whether to push through or back off. You always know what to do next.
Unlike exercise lists that leave you guessing how hard to push...
Unlike programs that fall apart the moment you have a flare or travel…
A flare-up and travel framework built for real life
If you’re traveling and have no equipment or if you have a flare up, you’ll know exactly what to do. This system teaches you how to make progress while also having a life and other commitments.
Progress that holds between sessions — not just during them
Sitting, sleeping, and standing guidance so you're not undoing your work without realizing it. Because what you do outside your workouts matters just as much as what you do in them.
Clear exit criteria — so you know exactly when you're done
At 12 weeks you'll know where you stand and what to do next. The goal is to get you to a place where you don't need this system anymore — and this system tells you when you've arrived.
Why I Built This System
I designed this system because, like you, I was scared running would have to be a part of my past, too.
But first — let me tell you about H.
She came to me in her early 40s — smart, research-savvy, and exhausted from doing everything right. She'd foam rolled. She'd stretched. She'd taken time off, modified her training, seen providers. Running was the thread that held her together — her stress relief, her identity, the version of herself she recognized in the mirror. And she was quietly, methodically losing it.
She didn't come to me angry. She came to me defeated.
She'd already started building her life around the absence of running. Telling herself it was fine. Filling the space with other things. But underneath it, she was grieving — because nobody had given her a real path forward. The medical system had handed her generic exercises and a follow-up appointment and called it care.
What finally shifted things for H wasn’t a secret exercise. It was a system that let her find exactly where her hip was — what it could handle, what it couldn’t, what had quietly been making things worse — and then start there. For the first time, she wasn’t guessing. She had a clear place to begin and a map for what came next.”
She was running again for the first time in years.
And I realized something sitting across from H that I haven't been able to shake since: she wasn't giving up running because she had to. She was giving it up because the right system didn't exist for her yet.
H wasn't unusual. She was everywhere.
Women from Nashville to France to towns with no specialist within a hundred miles — reaching out because they weren't ready to stop either. Women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who'd been told to:
Rest.
Modify.
Accept.
Women who'd started quietly shrinking their lives around a hip that didn't have to define them.
I can't sit across from every woman who needs this. But I can build a system that does.
The Catalyst Hip Protocol is the system H deserved from the beginning — built on ten years of physical therapy practice, a background consulting for professional sports organizations, and a deep personal understanding of what it means to have your active identity on the line.
This isn't clinical advice. It's a structured, evidence-informed system designed to give you exactly what H got — a clear path forward, built around you.
Dr. Chelsea Matthews, PT, DPT
THE CATALYST SYSTEM
Here's how it works
Most programs give everyone the same plan and call it personalized.
This one starts with an assessment of where you are right now.
Complete Your Assessment At Home
You'll receive guided video tests walking you through exactly what to do. Most women complete it in under 20 minutes from home — no appointments, no special equipment needed.
Match Yourself to Your Starting Phase
Your assessment results point you to one of three science-backed loading phases. The built-in matching guide walks you through it step by step — so you know your starting exercises, your resistance level, and where your walking or running progression begins. You can start immediately, exactly where your tendon is ready to work.
Follow Your 12-Week Progression
Your phase tells you exactly what to do each week. Currently running 2 miles? Your progression starts at 2.2, then 2.4. Haven't run in months? You'll build a walking foundation before running intervals begin. Every step matched to the phase you placed into.
Use the flare-up framework
If pain exceeds 5/10 during a session — or spikes in the 24 hours after — the system tells you exactly what to do. A flare isn't failure. It's information on what your body needs to see progress.
Finish with exit criteria + what comes next
At 12 weeks you'll know exactly where you stand - and exactly what to do next. Continuation options are available. But the goal is to get you to a place where you don't need this system anymore.
What's Included
Built for the version of you who doesn't think about her hip anymore
Here's exactly what's included when you join the Catalyst Hip Protocol.
A 3-phase strength system matched to your tendon capacity
You assess, you match to your phase, you progress. Your starting point, your resistance, your progressions — all keyed to where your hip is right now.
Live group Q&A calls with Dr. Chelsea (6 sessions)
Six live group calls, strategically placed across the 12 weeks. Dr. Chelsea teaches the framework in depth: reading your assessment, applying the phase progressions, and how the flare-up rules work in real situations. You'll come away able to make these calls on your own. Recorded, so you never miss one. A DPT teaching you to read your own body — built in, not an upsell.
A return-to-activity progression that meets you where you are
Whether you're building a walking base or already running, you start at the rung that fits your current tolerance — running, walking, or hiking.
The at-home assessment + matching guide
A guided, 20-minute self-assessment that reveals your tendon's current capacity and shows you exactly which phase to start in. No appointments, no waiting.
Positioning and movement education videos
Sitting, sleeping, and standing guidance that protects your progress between sessions — so you're not undoing your work without realizing it.
Flare-up framework + decision rules
If pain spikes, you'll know exactly what to do — no panic, no losing weeks (or months) of momentum.
Travel + life disruption protocol
What to do when you miss a week, travel, or life gets in the way — so you never lose your place.
Coaching-level exercise video library
Shows you what matters, what doesn't, and how to progress — so you stop second-guessing your form.
Exit criteria + long-term continuation plan
Know exactly when you're done — and exactly how to maintain your results without endless programs.
The Investment
Early access price
$697
off the total value of everything included
Early access pricing closes June 17th. Payment plans available.
Includes 6 live group Q&A calls with Dr. Chelsea — recorded and available if you can't attend live.
7-day review period — if it's not the right fit, email us for a full refund.
This 12-week protocol is a good fit if you:
Your goal is returning to running, walking, hiking, or any activity that requires a strong, resilient hip
Want a clear, structured plan with live group support built in — not open-ended private coaching.
Have pain on the outside of your hip as your primary complaint
Are medically cleared for progressive exercise
Are ready to do 3 sessions per week and trust the process — even when progress feels slow in the middle weeks
Are not post-surgical (post-surgical rehab requires 1-on-1 care)
This protocol is not a good fit if you:
Have pain in multiple areas and want one system to address all of it
Need individual, on-demand access to Chelsea for your specific situation between calls — that's what private coaching is for.
Need someone to track your workouts and follow up with you personally between sessions to stay on track
Are post-surgical and looking for a protocol for this
Still not sure? Email chelsea@chelseamatthews.co before joining - she’ll tell you honestly whether this is right for you or whether private coaching is the better next step.
REAL WOMEN. REAL RESULTS.
M tried other apps and programs before this one. After 3 years of trial and error, here's what she said.
"This is the first plan that helped me return to running with confidence after 3 years of trial and error."
STOPPED GUESSING. STARTED PROGRESSING.
"I thought I was working on all the right muscle groups — until my knees and hips started to hurt. How can I work out this much and still have pain? Now every exercise is prioritized to my exact needs. I'm seeing significant progress — and my workouts are actually taking less time while I'm gaining more strength." -Amelia
FAQs
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Your self-assessment requires no equipment to complete.
Depending on your assessment results, you may need the following equipment - bands, dumbbells and a chair or workout bench.
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Upon sign-up, you'll answer questions about your current activity level and goals — your recommendations are built from there. Your plan will move you toward your goal activity. Depending on where you're starting, that may begin with walking, run/walk intervals, or running.
Not a runner? The same progressive loading framework applies whether your goal is hiking, walking, hiking, or getting through your day without pain.
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Most women in the program complete:
3 strength workouts per week (30 minutes each)
2-3 walks or runs per week
No crazy long sessions. No fluff.
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Flare-ups can happen during any loading-based approach - and this protocol is built with that in mind.
You’ll be given clear guidelines for how to adjust, when to hold steady, and when to progress again, so one bad day doesn’t turn into weeks of lost momentum.
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If you review the materials and feel this protocol isn’t appropriate for you, you can request a refund within 7 days of purchase.
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15 Spots. Early access is capped because this first cohort gets live group Q&A calls with Dr. Chelsea throughout the 12 weeks - and that’s only sustainable with a limited founding group. Once spots fill or early access closes, the program opens at the full price.
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Each video shows you what to focus on to get the most out of each exercise Click here for an example video.
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The assessment is a guided movement test you complete at home — no appointments, no special equipment, no travel. Most women finish in under 20 minutes.
You'll follow along with video guidance that walks you through each test step by step.
Once you’ve completed the tests, the matching guide walks you through reading your results and placing yourself into the phase that fits your current tendon capacity and goals. You’ll have your starting plan the same day — no waiting, no back-and-forth. Everything you need is inside the program.
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You’ll join a live group video call where Dr. Chelsea teaches the framework in depth — reading your assessment, applying the phase progressions, and working through how the flare-up rules apply in real situations. The goal is for you to leave each call more capable of making these decisions yourself. Calls run 45–60 minutes and are recorded, so you won’t miss anything if you can’t attend live.
Your active life isn't optional. It’s who you are.
It’s not a luxury you're chasing. It's the version of yourself you're trying to protect.
You don't need more generic advice that keeps your life on hold. You need a system that starts where you are and gets you where you're going — without the guessing, the flares, or starting over.
Only 15 early access spots at $697
Early access closes June 17th - or when spots fill
Price increases after this cohort.
7-day review period — if it's not the right fit, email us for a full refund.
© 2026 Chelsea Matthews Coaching, LLC. All rights reserved.
This system and website are owned and operated by Chelsea Matthews Coaching, LLC (Chelsea Matthews, DPT).
By purchasing or using this system, you agree to our Terms & Conditions • Privacy Policy • Disclaimer
Health Disclaimer:
The content provided through this system, including exercises, videos, and written materials, is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Participation in this system does not create a physical therapist-patient relationship. Always consult your healthcare provider before beginning any new exercise system or making changes to your existing care plan.
Results Disclaimer: Individual results vary. Chelsea Matthews Coaching makes no guarantees regarding specific outcomes such as pain relief, performance gains or injury prevention.
Contact: For support or billing questions, contact chelsea@chelseamatthews.co