Dooley Noted: 1/14/2014
This conversation with an acupuncturist 7 years ago changed my life.
Acupuncturist: Kathy, how often are your headaches?
Dooley: Several times a month.
Acupuncturist: Yes, I’d have a headache, too, if I lived with a coat hanger in my shirt.
Dooley: Pardon me. But WHAT?
Acupuncturist: Your shoulders are in your ears!
I had noticed this in pictures all my life. I lived in a permanent shrug!
Shrug your shoulders and hold it there. Maybe you are already there.
Now, drop your shoulders down and back as much as you can.
Don’t hyperextend your back. Did you?
Don’t stick your belly out. Did you?
Don’t pitch forward to avoid leaning back. Did you?
Especially in cold weather, I get an influx of patients with neck pain, migraine, and tension headaches.
And sometimes, these symptoms fade into oblivion if I can get their shoulders out of their ears.
Check yourself. Check each other! If it is challenging to open up the chest or drop the shoulders, then you might need to be assessed.
Manual therapy on the neck might be lovely, but you can also consider following it up with getting the entire system to make you more successful.
Belly breathing.
Core stability.
Midback mobility.
Shoulder mobility and stability.
The secret to your neck pain or headaches might be as simple as getting tension out of the neck and putting it elsewhere.
Distribute the tension evenly.
But as always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley