Luca Ballabio - Chiropractor

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas to you all, and thank you for your continued support🎄

I am now off for Christmas and New Year back home in Italy. Services and appointments will resume starting from Thursday 6th January 2022.

For any emergencies, please contact me on lballabiodc@gmail.com

14/02/2021

As an ex-pro skier, It is heartbreaking how a god of skiing like Ted Ligety got stopped in his tracks, against his will, by his back nevertheless. Not even a new injury, just a worsening condition.

This is the kind of reason why I tell my patients NEVER to accept pain as something normal or "the new norm", especially early in the development of it. I wish Mr. Ligety a swift recovery and to see him on the slopes soon, in a more casual way.

Love your back: Analyze, adjust, rehab, reform.

Can’t make this $h!+ up. Ligety Out!

I was excited to race one last time then retire on my own terms. To dig deep, throw down and see what would be possible. Perhaps conjure up some “vintage Ligety”. Unfortunately it was not to be, my back said I’m the boss and you are finished now.

Yesterday, I woke up to the worst sciatic pain of my life. I can’t point to anything that triggered it but I had been experiencing low grade sciatica for a week or two which was “normal” for me on occasion for the last several years. An MRI revealed my discs at L4-5 and L5-S1 are herniated to the point it’s not safe to ski right now.

For context, the last 6 years my back has been in control of my skiing. 4 years ago after years of therapy and numerous cortisone injections were to no avail I had surgery. The surgery was largely successful and greatly reduced my symptoms. But if I’m honest with myself my back was never the same again. Okay became good and bad became fine. I tricked myself into thinking it was good and could support the forces needed to win, clearly it could not.

Now it’s time to get my back healthy to support a lifetime of playing and skiing with my kids. Thank you everyone for your support.

24/12/2020

Wishing you all a very merry and pain-free Christmas! May today be a day of 2020 filled with joy and happiness, for you and everyone around you 🎄🌟

03/11/2020

Hi everyone,

It was about time I made a new update to my page, I hope you have all been keeping well an safe.

I wanted to inform you all that, since I am deemed an essential worker, I will be open during the national lockdown starting Thursday, with the same hours, same days and same clinics.

- Broadgate Chiropractic Clinic in Horsforth (Tuesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday)
- Freedom Care Clinic in Leeds (Monday/Thursday)

I look forward to welcome you all :)

24/08/2020

What an interesting read!

According to the Gallup-Palmer College of Chiropractic Annual Report on American Patient's Perception on Chiropractic, the main reason that adults would give to make them hesitant or unlikely to choose chiropractic care in the event of significant neck and/or back pain is if they have another healthcare provider to treat them (33%), followed by a lack of trust in the chiropractic profession (29%) and thinking that chiropractic is unsafe (23%). 🤨

However, for those that experienced chiropractic care in the last 5 years, 8 out of 10 patients agree that:

- The quality of care they received was good value for money
- They felt very cared for by their chiropractor
- They recommended family and friends to see a chiropractor
- They got involved and educated appropriately by their chiropractor on treatment options.

That makes me think: what causes lack of trust and lack of safety? More often than not is LACK OF KNOWLEDGE and FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN 😰 So today I am going to give you an overview on the journey from student to chiropractor.

It all started with a choice of University. Mine was the AECC University College in Bournemouth. The course lasts 4-5 years depending on the college of choice, clocking an average of 4200 hours of teaching and 1000 hours of clinical training hours. After that, each practicing chiropractor must prove continuing professional development by attending courses/seminars for a total of 15 hours, plus 15 more hours of self-studies.

Were you surprised by those information? Comment if you would like some more 😉 And for those of you who like to read, here is the published paper: https://www.palmer.edu/getmedia/252696d3-9f6d-4bf6-a36b-196155fcae07/gallup-report-palmer-college-2016.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0eEPXbjk6_MBGCRKlKmtF4Aolb4NcofcJyqoeNmuR-1Bo5vC1cbobS7RQ

"Knowledge is power" - Francis Bacon

17/08/2020

PHEW! Quite the warm weekend we had, huh? Luckily the rain freshened things up a bit!

That got me thinking...Have you been sleeping with a fan on?

While you sleep, you body temperature decreases, and the cool air circulating around the room can cause your muscles to tense and cramp, air allergens such as pollen to cause irritations, and even throats and sinuses to dry up!

While it is nice to fall asleep with a breeze on, make sure that it's light and directed around the room, and not to yourself!

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." ~ Henry Ford

10/08/2020

What a nice weekend has been this one, has it? I've spent it with my family at the The Halifax Golf Club, beautiful course and so dynamic! I am now committed to learn golf properly :)

And after a good session of adjustments and treatment, both of them are back on maximum power! Remember to warm up for 5mins before any form of sports, and to stretch at least 5mins after you finish, to give your own system the TLC it deserves.

"Mens sana in corpore sano"

03/08/2020

All moved in the new flat, surrounded by parks & green! Good thing I managed to get treated by Tim from the Broadgate Chiropractic Clinic team soon after, I definitely overused my body with all the lifting!

27/07/2020

I am moving house tomorrow, and that made me think "I can write something about that"!

I get a lot of people coming to see me in pain after doing too much DIY, or moving house, or doing a lot of lifting, and I tend to see many common patterns in them.

Remember to use your whole body to lift. That means bend your knees and lower your pelvis. Think of your lower body as a spring, or a coil: the closer your feet are to your buttock, the more explosive power they will have, and the easier the lifting will be!

Another EXTREMELY important thing to do is: BREATHE! the more you breathe out while lifting heavy objects, the more active your core will be and even more strength will be generated, not to mention that you'll save yourself from lots of pulled muscles!

There is nothing that can replace an adjustment when the body needs it, but having good lifting mechanics is rule n* 1 of rehab for low back pain :)

"Load the body's coil and deeply breathe, then release it and let your soul ROAR."

20/07/2020

Did you know? That chiropractic and sports go hand in hand like bread & butter?

It is widely proven that chiropractic improves sports performance and reduces the risk of injury, so much that nowadays most of the teams of National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have one by their side all the time, including Olympics team!

The body, being the good machine it is, is so good at masking those weaknesses. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to test neurological muscle strength in athletes and not, and you might be surprised by your own results! Believe me I Know, I used to be just like that too! (see picture below, that's me! :D)

The question is: are you truly strong, or are you just compensating?

"A strong body is an enduring body, and an enduring body is one who doesn't constantly shout at you for help."

13/07/2020

"While other professions are concerned with changing the environment to suit the weakened body, chiropractic is concerned with strengthening the body to suit the environment." - B. J. Palmer

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE! I hope you all enjoyed a sunny Sunday out of pain :)

07/07/2020

Today, we're delving in the mechanics of 😴 sleep and sleep hygiene 😴

Like & share for more content like this!

Our chiropractor, Luca shares his help and advice on how to get a good night's sleep if you are suffering from back pain or neck pain.