Ballito chiropractor, model and business owner, Dr Khabonina Nkwelo, or ‘Khabs’ as she’s affectionately known, has become somewhat of a household name on the North Coast since opening her practice just four years ago.
It’s been a busy and exhausting few weeks for Khabonina. Somehow, though, when she arrives for our interview at Umdloti’s Caffe Java, she looks fresh, alert and ready to face the task at hand.
You see, besides managing her thriving Ballito-based chiro practice, on the day we meet, Khabs is about to head off to the Eastern Cape to marry the man of her dreams. For the second time.
“We had our ‘white wedding’ five years ago,” she says, “but because of a few challenges, we haven’t gotten around to having our traditional wedding. Now it’s time!”
Although she is Swati by birth, Khabs grew up and spent her life in KZN. Her husband, Abonga, is Xhosa. “It is a big deal because we are, essentially, blending three different cultures – Swati, Zulu and Xhosa. There has been a lot of planning and preparation, and it hasn’t always been easy, but both our families are very excited about the celebrations ahead,” she smiles.
Even from a young age, it was evident that Khabs was destined for big things. “I loved school and always did really well, especially in sport. I was quite mischievous though,” she admits, “and got into trouble for talking too much!”
An excellent sportswoman, she achieved both her KZN and SA colours in various sport disciplines. It was after she sustained a back injury in Grade 11, though, that Khabs says she found her calling in life. “My coach suggested I see a chiropractor. At the time I had never even heard of a chiro before. My mom and I found the address of the closest chiropractor in the Yellow Pages, Dr Warwick Botha, and made an appointment.”
She was absolutely blown away by the experience. “He was so thorough, asking me loads of questions, many of which went beyond the injury I was seeing him for. I had always struggled with headaches and it turned out that there had been a structural change to my body when I had whiplash in a car accident many years before. Dr Botha was able to fully cure my headaches. He was incredibly forthcoming and encouraging and, when I decided to study chiropractic, he ended up becoming my mentor.”
During her gap year after school, Khabs was approached by a talent scout looking for models. “My mom often entered me into beauty pageants when I was growing up and I was so confident and extroverted. I loved it, so I decided to give it a go.” She signed up with ICE Models, where she ended up doing a lot of retail and catalogue photographic work. She also taught at the modelling school.
After studying chiro for seven years at Durban University of Technology, Khabonina qualified in 2017. This also happened to be the year she and Abonga got married. A year later she started her own practice.
“I was working in another practice and I remember thinking, one day when I’m older I’m going to own my practice. Then one day I woke up and thought … what am I waiting for?”
Living in Umdloti, Khabs says it made sense to open a practice in Ballito. “Ballito was the fastest-growing suburb in the country and, at the time, there were only three chiropractors, all of whom were men. I knew this was where I needed to be.”
She opened her practice, North Coast Chiropractors, in 2018 and within just a few months she was already getting loads of bookings.
Dr Khabs has a special interest in the perinatal chiropractic field, dealing with pregnancy-related aches and pains, as well as those post-partum and newborns. She also treats sport injuries, the geriatric community and the general population (many of whom, she says, come in for regular adjustments to maintain their health and keep them feeling strong and revitalised). In 2021 Dr Zanelé Crous joined her practice.
We asked Khabs to share some top tips for those who are trying to get back into exercise after some winter ‘downtime’.
• Plan and schedule – never rely on how you feel at the moment to decide if you’re going to exercise. Schedule it and stick to your plan. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.
• Ease into it – increase your time, intensity and frequency slowly. This vastly decreases the likelihood of injury.
• Power in numbers – have an exercise buddy or join a class. It helps when you feel accountable to someone other than yourself.
• Listen to your body – if you are having pain that increases (or is induced) when you exercise or lasts more than three days, see a professional. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Remember, if you listen to your body when it whispers something to you, you won’t have to hear it scream one day.
Details: North Coast Chiropractors, iZulu Office Park, Ballito. 087 354 9042
@northcoastchiropractors
Text: Leah Shone | Photographs: Chris Allan Photo | Outfit: Muze | Shoot location: Sugar Rush Park
