I’ve held off getting it seen to but next week I am
scheduled to be on a water ski coaching workshop in Portugal (as you do) and I
really need to get this seen to before I start playing a tug of war with a boat.
This has been coming for some time as my back has been
getting progressively worse and my right hand side is locked up. Time for some maintenance. With only three days in Barcelona and
arriving late on a Thursday afternoon, I have one working day to find someone
who can help.
The joys of the internet.
Reading through a swathe of bio and business details for Osteopaths in
Barcelona, there is an article I chance upon written by and English woman who now
practices in Barcelona, Kathryn (Katy) McConkey.
I email her explaining my plight and the logistical
challenge that I do not have a local phone number but do have email She emails me back saying she can see me at 3.00pm.
Katy is a consummate professional and great at what she does. It’s not just a question of where I feel
sore, it’s a set of other questions that I think are oblique about my health
and general travelling and any diet or sickness during the trip. Turns out the holistic approach works (now there's a surprise). She checks out my back. Sure enough, locked up from bottom to top on
the right Her prognosis is that the back
is not physically misaligned, rather it’s a case of some inflammation originally
from the kidney that has led to some muscular lock-up. An hour later, some stretching, manipulation
and pressure point work later and I can start to feel it say hello again.
When I ask about swimming locally, she
suggests a couple of places and suggests it would be great exercise for getting
the back stretched out and working again..
Katy has been here for 22 years. “I originally came here for a year or two to
learn Spanish. Then…well I sort of
stayed here – didn’t really intend to.”
She originally started out as a teacher and changed profession to
become an Osteopath. She worked with a local practice for sometime and then branched out by herself. Katy has been in
private practice for a year and a half now.
While a wonderful location (near the waterfront), her lease prevents her
from having any signage outside so business is largely referrals, current
clients or internet (for those who chance upon her like me).
She speaks with a soft and indeterminate Mediterranean
accent. Any hint of her British accent
softened by the sun here.
“I’m thinking of going back to the UK.”
There’s not a lot of conviction in the statement.
Katy gives me some insights into what it’s like to establish
and run a small business in Spain and, in particular, Barcelona. While the leisure and travel around Spain
strikes me as idyllic any notion of a future here with a business is quickly
put in perspective.
For anyone who finds themselves in need of back/spinal or
alignment work while in Barcelona, I highly recommend Katy. It is great to
have an English speaking practitioner that can help you out in foreign lands. She
has given me a fighting chance of surviving a week behind a boat next
week.
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