Stefan Becker: Chiropractor

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Stefan Becker is an English-speaking chiropractor with 23 years of experience. He specialises in gentle techniques, and helps people with back pain, sciatica, neck problems, headaches, and general health/wellbeing issues. Stefan opened his office, Sarrià Quiropràctica, in April 2016 and shares his thoughts on the benefits of chiropractic for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 

I was born in England, but raised in Melbourne, Australia, where I studied Chiropractic at RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) for five years. After working in Brisbane for 18 years, and five years in England, my wife and I decided it was time for a new challenge. We worked hard on our Castilian, packed up the whole house, and moved to Barcelona in late 2015.

People here always ask why we moved to Barcelona as Australia is such a nice place to live, but for us it was an easy decision - we needed a change. Barcelona has so much culture, the food and weather are awesome, and the people are so friendly and relaxed. We love to travel and there are so many countries nearby to visit, so we love it. 

When I first arrived in Barcelona, I was a little surprised that people were quite unfamiliar with chiropractic; so many people visit chiropractors regularly in Australia. It’s the biggest natural health profession in the world and I think people are starting to learn about the importance of looking after their spine now in Spain. There’s even the very highly regarded chiropractic college, BCC—Barcelona Chiropractic College here now, in Sarrià. The Catalans are lucky to have a world-class chiropractic college right in their capital.

When I was young, I had migraines up to three times a week. I would spend the day in the 'sick bay' at school vomiting and cradling my head. Eventually we went to a local chiropractor and he fixed me within a few weeks! I was amazed by the results, and decided then and there, at 15 years old, that I wanted to be a chiropractor.

It's very rewarding when you can help someone who has had terrible back pain, headaches, or neck pain for years. You see the excitement in their eyes when they realise it's working - that's my favourite part. Most people don't really understand that relieving pressure from the spinal cord can cause many health improvements, like sleeping better, having more energy, and better moods. So when they experience these types of changes, it is often more exciting to them than what they originally came in for!

Some people feel nervous about going to see a chiropractor, which I can understand, so I focus on explaining everything carefully and making sure the whole experience is gentle, easy, and comfortable for them. The spine really is just a mechanical device that happens to hold the central nervous system, and any mechanical device needs to be maintained. That is why chiropractic exists. Your spine needs to last your whole life so you need to look after it.