Kathy Dooley

Since my reign as a health bully ended, I have found myself to be a more effective doctor. I am finding that health and balance are easier said than done. Also, I’ve learned that unsolicited advice falls on deaf ears. This has been ultimately true with my father. For years, I threw away his margarine and put Dawn soap all over it so he wouldn’t re-shelf it. A few months later, I’d be doing it … Read more

Why I’m StrongFirst Until May of last year, I worked out in a gym or on the pavement. For 33 years, I had no sport. I had no goals. I exercised because I thought it was “good” for me. Then, I started surrounding myself with people who didn’t train for the sake of sweating or burning calories. They are StrongFirst.  They don’t pick up a weight until the form is safe. They put the weight … Read more

I used to walk at the speed of light. And you used to see and hear me coming. One of my chiropractic classmates used to say I had the “million dollar walk of confidence,” which is commonplace in NYC. This walk is confident, fast, heavy, and on a mission to get to a destination. So, you can imagine how annoyed I used to get when everyone would tell me to slow down -or if my … Read more

While teaching a patient how to belly breathe, he gave me the same reason most people chest breathe: “But my gut will pooch out and look even bigger!” Some of us spend so much time sucking in our guts that we’ve created perpetual abdominal tightness.  When I pointed out the same tightness to the patient, he said, “I thought tight abs were a good thing!” Abdominal muscles that can go from completely relaxed to full … Read more

Most of my life, I’ve been coached to do great things so I can build up my résumé. This CV – this life curriculum – describes my education, degrees certifications, jobs, and personal references.  As I update this CV in front of me, I only have one thought on repeat: None of this really matters to my patients or my students.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m proud of my CV. But no one seems … Read more

While home in Indiana, my mom and dad fixed one of their famous pots of coffee. Dooley: Mama, even black this is still the best coffee. What kind is it? Mamacita: Jo – it’s the same we’ve always used. It’s Maxwell House! I asked Mama how much her container of Maxwell House costs. She said its $5.  Then, I asked how long that $5 lasts. She said a month of making an 8-cup pot per … Read more

Patient: Well, those are some interesting-looking shoes. Dooley: The Vibrams? Yeah, it’s a miracle I’m wearing any shoes at all.  Patient: They’re not exactly attractive. Dooley: Ma’am, any man worth dating wouldn’t mind them at all. That’s what I said. But I feel more about it.  I haven’t chosen this career – this life – as a default or a facade. I came to play, and I came to be real. I’m not going to … Read more

Popliteus bursa. Gastrocnemius bursae. Semimembranosus bursa. Quadriceps bursa.  Prepatellar bursa.  Still think your knee pain is because of a torn meniscus? I call the bluff.  Many of us are walking around with irritations – even partial or full tears – of the medial meniscus. That doesn’t mean we have pain.  Meniscectomies are largely conducted due to patient pain complaints. Yet, these meniscectomies are rarely successful and often repeated multiple times.  Why? The movement wasn’t assessed. … Read more

I’m consistently the Posture Police with my patients. From structure to function, i know how much posture matters.  Do what you’ve always done, and you’ll get what you’ve always had – until you break.  Or, you can choose to evolve.  You evolved to be upright. You crawled as a child, and your sole job as a child was to get moving. But you didn’t move until you had the stability to do so.  You fell … Read more