Bridgeham Clinic: A broken to brilliant story

They thrive on taking the broken and making them brilliant. And the story couldn’t be more personal for husband-and-wife owners Trevor and Jo Strutt.

“Everything changed when some stage scenery fell on my head and devastated my professional dancing career”, explains Jo, “The prognosis was terrible. I was in pain – both physically and mentally - but I was determined not to have surgery or to rely on painkillers for the rest of my life. I wanted to find a different way to be well again.”

It was at that point that a friend advised Jo to seek out Trevor to see if he could help.

This was before they were married. Jo had been a dancer on cruise ships, at Royal Variety Performances and in West End shows while Trevor had honed his skills in massage therapy and osteopathy alongside his dad, who started the Bridgeham business from their Smallfield family home in 1993.

Faced with a lifetime of pain and disability, where even driving would be a challenge, Trevor’s approach was to prove instrumental in Jo’s return to full, pain-free health. Out of this a new idea was born that would be almost unique to patient recovery and rehabilitation – Bridgeham’s “Broken to Brilliant®” ethos.

“We saw an opportunity to combine pain relief with teaching people to move better,” says Trevor, “In that way, we can help people avoid repeating bad movement habits that can result in them being trapped in a never-ending pain-treatment cycle.”

The approach clearly seems to be working and Bridgeham® can count a wide range of people among their clients from the very young to the very old, including trades people, athletes, nurses, dancers, gardeners, Olympians, drivers, vets, and professional boxers.

The list of happy, pain-free patients with better movement habits started to grow and created demand for bigger facilities. From the original clinic based in the Smallfield home, the business moved to Ifield in 2005 and in 2017 they opened their current base in Manor Royal with multiple treatment rooms and a movement studio.

The team of practitioners and therapists also increased all coached in the Bridgeham® way. The list of treatments expanded with them. From osteopathy and Pilates massage therapy, foot health, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, nutrition advice and even mental health counselling were added to encompass the full range of the mind-body experience of recovery and lasting good health.

COVID proved a challenge, but Bridgeham adapted by creating a range of online resources, classes, and coaching – tools clients attending the clinic can still benefit from today to help them continue their recovery at home and between visits.

“It’s not enough for us to just provide relief from pain,” Trevor summed up, “That’s just the first step. Our approach is dedicated to inspiring people to be the best they can be, whoever they are and whatever they do, from ordinary Joe to Olympic athlete.”

Which goes to show that sometimes good things can follow bad. If that scenery hadn’t fallen on Jo’s head all those years ago and if she hadn’t found Trevor, things might have turned out very differently for them both, and their clients who may never have experienced what it means to go from “Broken to Brilliant®”.

To find out more about Bridgeham services visit www.bridgehamclinic.com

To find out more about the Manor Royal BID visit www.manorroyal.org