A HUSBAND-and-wife team whose physical therapy business has been closed without government support throughout the lockdown have taken to giving free support on YouTube.

Matt and Naomi Mellor, who run Active Therapy South, were forced to close their treatment rooms at BH Live Queens Park on March 23, at the start of the coronavirus restrictions.

The couple – who say they have often worked 12-14 hours a day over the past nine years – faced supporting themselves and three children under six with no income. They have had no government aid so far.

They decided to support their existing client base as much as they could.

Over the first six weeks of lockdown, they filmed and published more than 14 self-treatment videos for free on their Active Therapy South YouTube channel. Titles included Neck and Shoulder Release for people working from home, Shoulder Trigger Point Release and Home Working Low Back Release, as well as several stretching guides.

Mr Mellor said: “Lots of people suffer with all sorts of aches and pains, whether that is from sports injuries or otherwise.

“We know this because not only are we consistently busy at our studio, we have clients that we treat regularly, and having our hands tied in this respect because of the lockdown was so frustrating.

“We felt we had a real responsibility to help support our clients as best we possibly could, and used our knowledge, our passion, and our natural confidence in front of the camera to continue our work. The hardest part of it, was trying to do it when we wouldn’t get interrupted by the children, and with three under six, that is no mean feat.”

The couple were also asked to join Train Elite – Positivity Group, set up by local personal trainer Rob Cooke, who launched a free members’ group to encourage people to keep fit mentally and physically during lockdown.

The group now has more than 900 members. The Mellors, who have worked with Mr Cooke for many years, act as specialists for any sports injuries that the group might need support with. They have hosted two question and answer sessions via the group.

As the lockdown continued, the couple developed online consultations.

They said they had come to realise they might not have had their work-life balance right before.

Mrs Mellor said: “We really didn’t see much of each other and spent very little time together as a family. Our business is a huge and important part of our life, and whilst we love what we do, we have been forced, for which actually we are grateful for, to re-evaluate our priorities. We have loved having all this time together, although with three boys I am not sure which is the tougher job, but Matt and I have agreed that we want to make some changes to our work life, and we feel that these exiting new initiatives, that we have started to establish will help us do that.”