Giraffe with SBMA

I have a warped mind. This morning while doing my neck exercises, I wondered what it would be like for a giraffe to have weakened neck muscles like those of us living with Kennedy’s Disease. I know the thought isn’t logical, but it was a diversion.

In 2013, I wrote a post on dropping-headsyndrome. It is still a popular post today. I discussed some exercises in that post that I performed for several years to maintain neck and shoulder strength.

Today, my weakened shoulders and neck are a regular distraction. I wrote about the changein February of 2015. At first it was quite painful and the weakness pronounced. Later that spring the pain went away and I regained some of the strength back. Twenty months later I have learned to live with the issue, but it is a difficult one to accept. Exercisesdo help. My soft collar also helps. But, I feel the fatigue in the neck every day and some activities like eating at a table are an exercise in frustration and futility.

Fortunately, as with most symptoms of SBMA, some days are better than others. I continue to exercise these muscles every day with the belief the neck would be far worse if I didn’t. And, as with everything else that has declined, I compensate and find workarounds. Unfortunately, one of those workarounds was to rest my chin on my hand. I wrote about that in Pinky Pain(ulnar nerve entrapment). Now that I am aware of the problems it caused, I try to catch myself doing it.

Oh well, Kennedy’s Disease – the good, the bad, and the ugly.