Bristol business profile: Core Strength Studios

Core Strength Studios: The MedX (centre at the back of the studio) is a rare but effective piece of equipment to treat back pain

By Mick Dickinson, founder at BuzzedUp

Husband and wife team Lydia and Andy Sherlock had become disenchanted with their career prospects at the Bristol gym chain where they met and worked. So they invested in specialist health training and some very rare equipment that helps treat back pain. Now there is clear blue water between them and the me-too gyms and health clubs.

Andy had trained in spinal rehabilitation at the University of Florida. He’d become a specialist in treating back pain, and one of a very few people accredited to use the MedX Lumbar Extension machine, the centerpiece of the couple’s sparkling therapy centre in Bristol.

Meanwhile Lydia was also skilling up, becoming expert in sports therapy and massage.

Their combined expertise enabled them to set up Core Strength Studios, a unique back-pain practise in Bristol.

I asked Lydia about where the inspiration for the business came from.

“People with back problems are often told to ‘strengthen their core’… but not everyone knows what that means. Our techniques and specialist equipment focus solely on isolating and strengthening just the core muscles of the body.”

The studio’s most unusual and rare piece of equipment is the MedX Lumbar Extension machine. One of only four such machines in the country, the MedX is designed to diagnose and gradually treat lower back problems.

How does the MedX Lumbar Extension machine work?

Weak lumbar and core muscles are often the cause of back pain. The machine isolates the muscles of the lower back and core. These muscles can be strengthened independently of the stronger muscles of the legs and buttocks.

Patients are seated comfortably in the machine and perform a set of pain-free exercises, extending and pushing back against a set resistance.

Full body, core strengthening and flexibility exercises are covered in a session. A typical programme is one session a week over 12 weeks.

Before starting, every client has a full diagnostic consultation, including a strength test in the machine. The computer allows results to be compared with norms for the relevant sex, age and weight. This indicates whether somebody has an underlying weakness and whether a programme could be of benefit. Each time they use the machine, the weight they’re pushing and the time taken to perform the exercise is recorded electronically. Progress is monitored and re-tested.

Confident that their niche health business would work, the pair needed funding to get started.

“We had to buy the MedX machine, set up the studio, and pay the lease deposit. So we went to the bank. They said ‘come back when you’ve got a proper business plan’. It was a wake-up call.”

Lydia knew they needed some advice, but wasn’t sure where to go. A friend told her about BRAVE, the enterprise agency in Bristol.

“We went along and did an half-day seminar on starting a business. It was brilliant, and we went on to pay for a more in depth, three-day session.

“After that I felt we had the tools and confidence to do a proper business plan. This time the bank gave us the funding we needed. It’s fair to say that without that support from BRAVE we wouldn’t have got where we are so quickly.”

Andy and Lydia still refer to and update that first business plan, check assumptions and make changes where necessary.

I asked Lydia how she and Andy got the first customers.

“Andy was well-known and trusted by a number of people so we got started with a set of loyal clients.

“If you’ve ever had back pain, you’ll know that finding a treatment that works is something you think about day in, day out. Our system works, so we get a lot of fantastic word of mouth and referrals.”

Lydia looks after the marketing for Core Strength, running a member-get-member, or ‘buddy’ scheme to incentivise referrals. The company’s blog, Facebook page and Twitter account all help to raise Core Strength’s profile.

Core Strength is clearly a successful business today. But it’s a rare new business that doesn’t face challenges in the first year or two.

“We had no kids when we first started the business. As it happened, I got pregnant almost immediately. But it took 18 months for the lease on the premises to go through. By the time that finally happened, I’d had my first baby, and was pregnant again!

“Holidays can be tricky, as we are the only ones qualified to do the work. So, when we do go away, there’s zero cash flow at that point. But we are dealing with that, and expect to have someone trained soon.”

Lydia often gets enquiries about the MedX approach to back pain, and her future vision is to run a small chain of Core Strength Studios, so more people can access the treatment.

Case study: Judy

Diagnosis: Ankylosing Spondylitis. Diagnosed in the late 1990s. History of back injury/weakness for years and significant rehab from breaks of pelvis, legs due to accidents.

“I had suffered from ‘back problems’ for 20 years, and had been to Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Physios – you name it I had probably done it. I couldn’t get out of bed or turn over during the night. My range of movement was poor.

When I was first diagnosed, I was given hydrotherapy on the NHS and Physio and that made some improvement and allowed me to exist in less pain – I was also on high dosage prescriptions.

When the hydrotherapy stopped, I was left to my own devices. My back deteriorated, and I developed inflammation in the neck and thoracic spine and sternum. Things progressed to my wrists, fingers and ankles too.

I saw the advertising board outside for CSS and decided to find out more.

After the initial session, I could feel some improvement. After the third session, others could see some improvement. I could get out of a chair without having to pull myself out and twist and bend!

Throughout my sessions, Andy was encouraging and excellent at explaining the whys and wherefores of what I was doing and achieving.

By the end of the sessions, I was able to use an exercise bike and treadmill.  Most significant of all I had reduced, and subsequently stopped, ALL pain related medications.

I am now fitter than I have been for years. When I think of all the money, time and energy I have wasted over the years, when I could have simply done the CSS Course, I despair.  This program works. It targets the right areas and, more importantly, educates you on how to keep the benefits after you have finished using the machines.”