You’ve one body – make it work
Kurt Johnson and Rebecca Bossick founded One Body LDN after careers, respectively, as a firefighter (before studying at British School of Osteopathy) and treating England rugby players and ultra-endurance athletes. They lead a team of eight at their London Bridge clinic, specialising in helping corporate workers remain fit, active and pain-free. David Leck went to meet them.
What you do and why are you different?
We run a physiotherapy clinic in the London Bridge area. We have eight full-time therapists, and the aim really is to change the standard of private physiotherapy in London. We’re different from others for a few reasons - and these are things that we purposely identified and researched when we established our business.
We found out what makes clients distrust physiotherapy or puts them off it - and we applied practices and strategies to offer a superior service.
Firstly, we take a collaborative, advisory and consultative approach. We don't just block sell sessions with no real reason or plan. We implement a recovery plan and teach our clients so they can learn about health along the way. We don't want our clients in pain so, the more educated they are, the better in the long run.
We operate from a purpose-built hub that is elegant, clean and engaging - and we have two clinic dogs that love to have a stroke in the waiting area!
"Physiotherapy" can come across as boring and we don't want our sessions to be an inconvenience, but a place where there is music, a community, hard work in our gym are and, of course, additional services such as deep tissue massage work to help release stiff muscles.
Another thing is our therapists are either all former competitors in sports or have experience working with athletes. We specialise in helping desk-bound workers who can carry high levels of mental and physical stress and we help them get the care to enable them to perform at a high level on a daily basis.
Tell me more about your work with stressed, desk-bound people working long hours?
Our main clientele is corporate workers in London. Sitting and being desk-bound tightens up our hips, upper backs and ankles. These three key areas of our body should be mobile for healthy and pain-free movement, but they are the areas that get hit the most from being desk-bound. Making sure they are released and showing clients how to avoid tightness really is key to long-term health.
Poor posture and the hunched sitting position are not good for neck health, shoulder health, headaches, breathing, digestion, mood – and so much more. Having physio sessions where we lengthen you out, address your posture and teach you how to align yourself is crucial for health and mood.
Being stressed is a huge root cause of so many diseases. So many of us are in a constant state of stress, and society is still poor at addressing just how damaging it is. Treatments such as sports massage, acupuncture and even just having an hour to yourself help to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system are all hugely beneficial. They lower heart and breathing rates, and blood pressure, and will promote better digestion. A state of relaxation is absolutely essential in the body’s recovery from all of life’s demands.
Whether you’re an athlete, busy professional, director or CEO, taking your health seriously and addressing what the body needs is vital. We genuinely believe in longevity, being proactive with health, not reactive. Addressing your physical health with treatment sessions will provide a huge advantage in maintaining a high-performance state professionally.
“Whether you’re an athlete, busy professional, director or CEO, taking your health seriously and addressing what the body needs is vital. We genuinely believe in longevity, being proactive with health, not reactive. Addressing your physical health with treatment sessions will provide a huge advantage in maintaining a high-performance state professionally.”
What’s your ethos and approach to treating people?
We’re very hands-on. We aim to provide the high standard of care and professionalism we feel can sometimes be missing in private healthcare. We blend injury diagnosis with full body postural assessment and then to treat it we use a mix of deep sports massage techniques, joint mobilisations and strength and conditioning exercises.
The solid hands-on work blended with high-level gym coaching is key to not only delivering initial pain relief but the strength and health gains to fix the injury long-term and prevent it from coming back. You shouldn't have one without the other.
Ultimately, when someone comes to see us for treatment, they leave in better overall health and condition than before. They’re not just pain-free. And we want people to be proactive. Many of our clients see us once a month for MOT sessions, which stave off many injuries and keep people feeling great.
What types of conditions and injuries do you treat?
We treat the whole body - from slipped discs to ankle sprains, from a crooked neck to carpal tunnel syndrome. But we also treat those who are pain-free. You may want a health assessment or to have some tight muscles released - we have that covered. And we also work a lot with consultants concerning pre- and post-surgery rehab.
What are your tips for maintaining a body ready to cope with life?
No matter the hype online with varied exercises, diets, and all types of crazy advice, blocking out the nonsense and sticking to the fundamentals consistently is key. So, here’s what we recommend:
Strength Training (once or twice a week) The three big exercises - bench press, squat and deadlift - this will pay huge dividends in terms of muscle development, fat loss and bone density. And don’t be put off by weights. With a good trainer you’ll be in safe hand.
Cardio Training (once or twice a week)
Whether in the form of a sport you enjoy or a long walk with your dog, getting the heart going and spending time not thinking about work is great for lowering blood pressure and optimising heart health.
Mobility Exercises (five minutes, four or five times a week)
What puts people off doing mobility is that it can seem well, frankly, not that interesting. So, pick one or two areas of body tightness that you want to address such as the hips and spend five minutes a day working only that - and form the habit. Working little and often on an area that needs addressing most is far better than being overly ambitious and not doing any of it. Maintaining a body comes down to one main thing – consistency. Training twice a week for years will always trump six times a week for just three months. Find things you enjoy and commit to them.
Do you do anything as a business by way of being "responsible”?
As we said, we love dogs so we’re proud to partner with the incredible Saving Harbin Dogs rescue. The guys there are amazing. They help save dogs from the meat trade in China by intercepting lorries full and rehoming strays found in the streets. We donate a portion of each treatment session fee to this rescue and try to bring attention to their work when we can.