Dooley Noted: 12/20/2013 One can go to great depths to hang on to a shred of past connection with someone. If one person does not want to maintain the connection, one person alone cannot pump life into it. Maybe it’s a former best friend. Maybe it’s a sibling. Maybe it’s a former love. Whatever the connection, one can reach out and attempt to give CPR to a lost connection. I’ve learned it seldom works. If … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/19/2013 I do not promote smoking cigarettes, organic or not. Inhaling tobacco is harsh to the lungs. Add in the chemicals of standard cigarettes, and you’ve got a recipe for health risks. On the contrary, I was viciously against the ban of cigarettes in public places. I think smokers are ostracized for their choice to smoke. I think a certain level of second-hand smoke is dangerous, but I don’t like taking away the … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/18/2013 My genius boss at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Todd Olson, announced last year that our lab practical exams were to be largely taken as a team. Individual questions were still stationed, but half of the practical was to be taken by the dissection team. I can’t speak for the faculty, but I thought this might not properly test the individual performance. But, skepticism without testing hypotheses is unfounded. So, I … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/17/2013 I see people stretch tight muscles. Maybe that’s helpful. But what if it makes your tightness WORSE? This happens quite often in the low back, hamstrings, and calves. We stretch them, because they are tight. But what if they are tight because they are the ones WORKING? People frequently lean into their pain, creating it. Watch them move, and you watch them create the pain in front of your eyes. Unless the … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/16/2013 Leave it to New York City people to inspire me every day. Yesterday, I was at Penn Station, catching a ride on the 2 to the Bronx. As most people gladly took the escalator, I found freedom on the stairs. Then, I ran into a blockade of a man in front of me. In the past, I would get frustrated if someone slowed my course. But I’ve slowed some, and I took … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/15/2013 I like to ask my patients about their goals. You need to state it out loud and be held accountable to it. Almost always, the number 1 statement is, “Be pain-free.” If the goal is an extremely challenging one, I tell the patient that is the “ultimate goal”. A penultimate, preceding goal helps to inch closer to it. It’s sometimes very difficult to recognize daily progress, when a bigger goal is being … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/14/2013 I met the great Joey Boffi nearly one year ago. Luckily for me, he approached me to get assessed. We became friends and SFGs, as well as referral networks for one another. As he prepared to perform in a December Muay Thai fight, he helped me understand the demands of these athletes. We worked to keep his biomechanical injury risk and pain minimized. He approached his corrective work like he does everything … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/13/13 The President of the Dooley B.O.T. didn’t like that I worked a 17-hour day on Monday. He let me know about it. President: Did you take a break today? Dooley: One hour midday. Trained. President: Nope. Not a break. Dooley: But I LOVE my work. President: You’re built to work. But it’s like a computer, Jo – it has a fan to cool down the processor. Taking the break is not necessarily … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/12/2013 I’ve never been thin. It’s not in my nature. And for my genetics and disposition, being thin has never suited me. So, I always took it with a grain of salt when people would offer these ridiculous nuggets: “Just wait until you’re 30. Your body will change so much.” “You won’t be able to eat like you used to do.” “You’ll have to workout twice as hard.” Bull. Bull. Bull. Since childhood, … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/11/2013 After a particularly rough day this week, I woke up with a Bad Day Hangover. I felt centered on my mistakes and missteps. The wet, slushy day was no comfort. I felt my socks get soaked through. And my ride had car trouble. I knew my foul attitude was making me feel worse. As I felt my feet get more and more cold, I felt my attitude shift with every breath in … Read more