A burgeoning interest of mine is the history of medicine. I am fascinated by what we thought of as cures in centuries past. Some of it is benign and some of it is absurd. Some of it is downright disturbing, like bloodletting.
It is easy to recoil at the horrifying remedies. Then I remember it was less than a century ago when we thought lobotomies were a good idea. It makes me wonder which contemporary practices will make our blood curdle in years to come. And which historical ones we will welcome back with open arms.
This year, I am writing a series that is inspired by the historical Zodiac Man. Many cultures have speculated that the variable orientations of the planets and moon influenced human health. In Ancient Greece, each month of the Zodiac calendar was assigned a different body part that was most affected by that interval’s celestial map.
I am not inclined to do astrological readings on my patients. I am interested in sharing some more modern and, hopefully, reasonable reflections on the parts of the Zodiac Man in their respective months. April is the first month in the Zodiac and April was assigned the head.
In my clinic, I frequently see people for headaches. Headaches can be the result of dehydration, sleep deprivation, or the ingestion of irritating substances. Headaches can also be the consequence of a mechanical problem. A deformation of tissue in the neck can radiate pain through the head. A tissue deformation is not necessarily tissue injury. A painful tissue deformation can result from postural stress, repetitive positions or movements. Changing posture to avoid aggravating positions and performing targeted exercises to restore movement in the upper neck is the mechanical solution.
What works will vary per individual. There is one movement that so commonly helps mechanical headaches that I would recommend it to anyone first. Lie on your back with your head resting on a firm surface. Tuck your chin without lifting your head off of the surface you are lying on. It should feel like the back of your head is sliding away from your feet and your spine is getting longer. Hold for 30 seconds. If this lessens the headache pain or concentrates the pain closer to your spine, continue. If it makes the pain worse, stop. This still could be a mechanical headache but this is not the move for you.
It is so easy, cheap, and effective to try exercise and posture changes for headaches that I recommend anyone explore this first before they look into more expensive and time-consuming options such as imaging or an advanced neurological examination.
Oh, and I definitely recommend this before you try bloodletting.