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Long-time Queenstown chiropractor Neki Patel’s opened a new clinic in Frankton after a long break to rehab from surgery.
Patel recently opened Neki Patel Chiropractic inside Flex Fitness gym at the Five Mile shopping centre.
He says he missed working while getting himself back to full fitness.
“It was nice opening up my practice and seeing familiar faces.
“I just enjoy treating patients — I love the communication with people.
“I’m known for treating sports people, but I love the community stuff and integrating the different treatment protocols and getting people better.”
He found the process of undergoing surgery and rehab interesting from a professional perspective, but it also gave him insight into the journey many of his patients are on.
The uncertainty of full recovery and the pressure you feel to get back to work, has an emotional toll, he says.
“My job’s quite physical, so there was that doubt in my head.
“There’s a bit of pressure because you want to be earning an income.”
However, he took care to not rush back to work too early.
“I’m now fully fit and ready to go, so it was a good decision.”
Working in Frankton is a big change of scene given he ran the Queenstown Health Clinic in Gorge Rd for more than 30 years.
After he sold the business last year, it was suddenly closed and put in liquidation by its new owner in November.
He still owns the building though and has converted it into short-term accommodation.
He began searching for new premises at the end of last year and found it “really difficult” to find the single-room space he was after.
However, he’s pleased to find himself in something of a fitness and therapy hub, with a neighbouring physio also inside Flex Fitness and physiotherapy clinic The Body Mechanics upstairs.
He reckons there are pros and cons to being in Frankton after working downtown for so many years, but the plentiful parking at Five Mile is very convenient for his patients, he says.
After employing an administrator for many years, he’s embraced new technology by employing a Kiwi company-supplied AI secretary, “Saffron”, which takes his bookings.
