CHIROPRACTIC CHANGED MY LIFE
It was something he never expected, but Jans Olde Wolbers’ life changed for the better after a visit to a doctor of chiropractic, over 15 years ago in Melbourne, Australia.
“I had been suffering debilitating headaches almost daily throughout my childhood and teenage years. I’d come home from school and have to take painkillers and sleep it off in a dark room, but it would return week after week, month after month – I remember thinking to myself that there had to be a better way.” Jans recalls that having headaches affected all aspects of his life including his grades in school, ability to play sports and meet up with friends.
“I was exceptionally lucky that my mother had the awareness and courage to try something different. She took me to a chiropractor and that’s when everything changed – not just my headaches, but my whole quality of life and way of seeing health and illness.”
Chiropractic is a specialised healing profession that works to optimise the function of the nervous system and allow the body to naturally heal and perform as it should. Jans goes on to say, “I learnt that the body self heals and self regulates and that this is controlled by the nervous system. Spinal misalignments (subluxations or pinched spinal nerves) can impair this control leading to problems elsewhere in the body. When we experience symptoms, such as headaches, back pain, poor energy levels, frequent colds & flu’s or colic in babies and so on, it is because the body is ringing an alarm bell telling us something is wrong. When I was suffering those headaches my chiropractor found that my spine was severely misaligned and I didn’t even know about it.”
Chiropractors don’t treat disease or symptoms. They use gentle & specific techniques called “adjustments”, to ensure that the spine is properly aligned so that the nervous system functions at 100%. This allows the body to heal itself effectively and for people to perform at their best in all aspects of life. The great thing is that anyone can benefit from chiropractic care including babies & children, pregnant women, athletes, mums & dads, even great grandparents.
Inspired by the changes he witnessed in his own life and the lives of others, Jans decided to undertake the 5 years of intensive university training to become a chiropractor himself. After years of study and many years of clinical practice in Australia and the UK, he is now based in Ibiza, at El Árbol de la Vida, a chiropractic wellness centre run by Amelia Costales with the help of Laura Bufi.
“Chiropractic has been around for over 100 years and is the largest natural health profession in the world, yet so few people in Spain are aware that it exists,” Jans notes. “Our mission is to change the culture of health in Ibiza and Formentera to a wellness based approach, where people are empowered to live in a way that allows them to express their true health potential and basically have a better life. As a society we need to make proactive health choices and not wait until disease and infirmity sets in if we want to thrive and not merely survive.”
Chiropractic has an outstanding track record worldwide. This is supported by the fact that over 27 million people visit a chiropractor each year in the United States alone, including top athletes such as the fastest man in the world: Usain Bolt, Rafa Nadal, Jorge Lorenzo, members of the Real Madrid team, and Tiger Woods as well as celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Madonna. Many people go to see a chiropractor not because they have pain or symptoms but because they understand that prevention is better than cure, and because of the overall benefits they experience in their lives.
“Our goal is to get people well and help them stay well for life though chiropractic and healthy living. We give information on all aspects of being healthy: such as eating, moving and thinking well. Our practice is a base for many workshops and courses run by like-minded practitioners. Above all, we explain the importance of having the spine regularly checked and adjusted when it is misaligned.”
“My greatest inspiration comes from the wonderful people in our practice. When someone tells me that they are happier since being adjusted, that they have more energy to spend with their kids, that they are able to handle the stress of summer much better, or their child is more outgoing, asking more questions and doing better in school, that is when I am humbled by the amazing power of the body to heal when the spine is free of subluxations or pinched spinal nerves.”
Jans Olde Wolbers has over 8 years of university training in science and chiropractic clinical science and is a licensed chiropractor & wellness coach. He works at Árbol de La Vida, Calle Teniente General Gotarredona, 7 bajos, IBIZA, Tel. 971 19 01 30 / 661 21 21 19.
