I'm still looking into this upper cervical instability issue. I think the general consensus among people who understand hypermobility better is that it is better to leave the neck alone at the beginning and focus on strengthening the lower trunk first so that the lower and middle back can stabilize the upper back and neck before you start working directly with the neck.
This is yet another important piece of data for us to advocate for ourselves, as many physiotherapists will focus on the neck if you come with neck pain but if you don't work on strengthening the lower and middle back, that might not work as intended.
Here's a short video which can give some hints:
He mentions this paper which is interesting and something that can be shared with physiotherapists:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Then, I found this channel which follows that approach, first, breathing properly in order to strengthen the inner muscles of the pelvis and abdomen, then some very mild exercises, then proprioception and posture, etc. The point being, she recommends a bunch of other things before working directly on the neck.
Fwiw...
This is yet another important piece of data for us to advocate for ourselves, as many physiotherapists will focus on the neck if you come with neck pain but if you don't work on strengthening the lower and middle back, that might not work as intended.
Here's a short video which can give some hints:
He mentions this paper which is interesting and something that can be shared with physiotherapists:
Presentation and physical therapy management of upper cervical instability in patients with symptomatic generalized joint hypermobility: International expert consensus recommendations - PubMed
Experts in symptomatic generalized joint hypermobility (S-GJH) agree that upper cervical instability (UCI) needs to be better recognized in S-GJH, which commonly presents in the clinic as generalized hypermobility spectrum disorder and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. While mild UCI may be...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Then, I found this channel which follows that approach, first, breathing properly in order to strengthen the inner muscles of the pelvis and abdomen, then some very mild exercises, then proprioception and posture, etc. The point being, she recommends a bunch of other things before working directly on the neck.
Fwiw...
