Opportunity for FULLY FUNDED sessions!

Thanks to  Seaford Town Council for thier community grant towards an Alexander Technique wellbeing course for members in Seaford with symptomatic hypermobility. 

Please do make contact to register your interest in attending this and to stay informed. 

Spaces will be limited and you do need to join SEDSConnective as a member (it's easy and free) via SEDSConnective website.

**** Contact now to register your interest. ****

Hypermobility is the term given when joints can be moved beyond what is considered a normal range, into over extension.  

Hypermobility is a connective tissue condition, where collagen found around the body has extra elasticity causing flexible joints. The condition can be under-recognised. A proportion of people with hypermobility do not have any symptoms and some even find it to be an asset as in the case of athletes, gymnasts and dancers.  Whereas other people can have problematic symptoms such as fatigue, painful joints, chronic pain and anxiety as the body works extra hard at stabilising itself.  Poor proprioception, clumsiness and repeatedly misusing the joints can make people prone to injury, pain and in some cases dislocations.
 

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not produced any guidelines for the management of hypermobility.  The British Society for Rheumatology, which has a NICE accredited process for producing guidelines, has stated that they do not have enough evidence to develop a guideline.  The NHS state that there is no cure for joint hypermobility syndrome and suggests physical therapies, such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy, which aim to improve muscle strength, fitness, posture and balance.
 

Although no studies have been undertaken on the effectiveness of the Alexander Technique and hypermobility, some health professionals are increasingly noting the value that the Alexander Technique has in offering self management strategies to deal with some of the issues hypermobility causes.  
 

Dr Phillip Bull, Consultant Rheumatologist and medical advisor to the Hypermobility Syndromes Association (HMSA) has written about his experience of his patients with hypermobility using the Alexander Technique alongside a multi disciplinary approach.  Read his article here.
 

My own experience of symptomatic hypermobility has developed my personal and professional awareness of hypermobility related issues.  Like many others I lived with hypermobility for many years without knowing what was causing my pain and repeated injuries.  I have invested a considerable amount of energy into informing myself and learning how to improve my self management.  I work with members of SEDSConnective charity which supports and advocates for people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) as an adviser raising awareness about the Alexander Technique.  My Alexander Technique Teacher training and CPD has included adapting teaching for hypermobile clients. I have also completed the EDS ECHO program. However, Alexander Teachers are not medically trained and Alexander Technique teaching does not replace medical advice.  Alexander Technique sits under the category of complementary health and helps improve clients' self-efficacy and posture.