I keep swallowing a lot of the time and it's hard to stop. The only way to stop is to distract myself from thinking about it. I guess it is related to my anxiety/OCD. And no matter how carefully I swallow, somehow, my symptoms increases.

For example after waking up this morning, I felt better than yesterday night; less blurry vision, less tinnitus, and not too dizzy, etc.. But after I start swallowing and I do a big yawn it all becomes undone. One swallow usually doesn't make my symptoms noticeably worse, usually it's only noticeable after a few. And excessive swallowing also makes me feel pressure in my forehead.

A yawn makes me worse than one swallow. And often when I yawn, my jaw starts to shake, making it worse because of my extreme sensitivity to jolting and shaking. Mark in Idaho said the yawning could make me worse because it can cause movement or stress to the C-1 cervical area.

I have been to craniosacral therapy two times and physiotherapy three times. After the last CST-session I have been unable to sleep on my right side. When I lay with the right side of my head on the pillow it somehow increases symptoms. Why could that be?

Has anyone else experienced a worsening of symptoms from simply swallowing or yawning? Why could this be?

Why do I feel pressure in my forehead from swallowing a lot?

The last CST therapy may have left your upper neck in a weak position. I used to not be able to sleep in my side. It caused me to have breathing problems. It took a long time of disciplined sleep posture to get my neck stable. If your head is tipping to the side or twisting or staying in any of odd position, it can cause inflammation if the cervical vertebra are not stable.

Your swallowing sounds like an OCD symptom.

I have times where I get stuck blinking when I am trying to go to sleep. I have to get up and find a distraction and the blinking will stop. I have never been able to figure out what causes the blinking. I just know I need to stop it.

What did the CST do in the therapy session?

The CST mostly just moved my skull plates in different areas, but also some acupuncture in my legs and feet and I vaguely remember she also did something with my neck. One weird thing happened: I experienced a minor loss of hearing when she did something around my ears.

I think the pressure in the forehead started after I held in a sneeze by pinching the nose. I have read that holding in a sneeze can, because of the high speed and forces involved, pop an eardrum or go somewhere it shouldn't be. The pressure feels like it's in the frontal sinuses. I don't expect you or anyone to know this - but I wonder if the pressure sensation got something to do with the sneeze I held in?

There are a couple of things, unrelated to this thread, I want to ask you. What would it look like if a physiotherapist pushes for range of motion? Is it like twisting your head further than where it stops rotating? - Because if so, my physiotherapist has done that several times. Why is that bad? I have told her that I might have an upper neck injury, but she has seen the results of the MRI I had, which came out clear. I don't think she realises that there could still be a problem (which there most likely is).

What should I tell her to avoid doing to prevent further damage? And is there any specific treatment method I should ask for?

I just got to say that I am really pushing it, writing these posts. I can't use screens for more than a couple of minutes before my symptoms increase. My head feels so full after pushing it like this. It's like my brain is screaming STOP.

Holding your nose during a sneeze sounds problematic. A sneeze is trying to force air out your nose to remove the irritant. You can damage your sinuses, your Eustachian tube, inner ear and more. Some have suffered hearing problems from blocking a sneeze.

Yes, the frontal sinuses could be strained by the blocked sneeze.

Your physiotherapist is clueless. An MRI only shows gross abnormalities. The subtle injuries and strains will not show up.

Yes, range of motion is trying to get the head/neck to turn more during each therapy. It can make a subtle neck injury worse. Physiotherapist like to chart ROM and see improvements. Without improvements, they have a harder time justifying their treatment and billings.

I don't understand why you do things that can injury you or you let others do things that can delay your recovery. You are in control of your body. No physiotherapist can do anything without your approval. STOP her.

What is the physiotherapist trying to treat if the MRI says your neck is fine?

I have had forward head posture for a couple of years. I assume this is not good for someone with a subtle neck injury. FHP is actually the main thing my PT has worked on. I have also had a very stiff neck the last couple of weeks which she has also helped a bit with: trigger point release, massage etc. She has given me a lot of exercises to do at home which I have been hesitant of doing, mostly because of my low tolerance for physical activity. I have weak muscle on the side of the neck and between the shoulder blades.

Would it be considered as pushing for range of motion to do exercises where I have to tuck my chin in and push my head further back than it usually is?
In other words: Could it be bad to try to fix the FHP while recovering from the neck injury?

A couple of days ago something happened that reinforced the idea that pushing my head further back than its neutral position could be bad for my neck.

I was lying in bed, and I tucked my chin in (probably further than what would be considered neutral position for someone without FHP). As I did, I heard a loud crackling sound. I have heard crackling sounds from my neck before, but this was unusually loud. The following minute, the sensation in my body gradually decreased to previous levels. My head also got foggy, and a feeling like my eyes have low frame rate (which I think others refer to as slow-motion feeling) reappeared. And I should also mention I have noticed that when the lack of sensation symptom is at its worst, my face is less firm.

It might just be me looking too much into it, but the curve of my neck feels different now. I also feel more uncomfortable lying down. Now I can't sleep on my left side either, although I'm not sure this started after this recent occurrence or before that.

You told someone on here hat he should abstain form doing yes and no movements at the same time. He wrote he had, I can't remember where but, an injury not in the upper neck.
It feels like my neck stiffens when I do a combined yes and no movement. I noticed this before the neck-crackling-occurrence. I'm not entirely sure I can trust my mind on this since I noticed it after I read about it.And I haven't done it on purpose yet as I'm afraid to do so.

Should I try to do this movement more to see if this is a problem. Why is this particular movement bad and what cervical injury is it bad for?

Tomorrow, I'm going to a chiropractist which is quite popular and has a good reputation. But he is not a neck specialist as far as I know.

Should I let him touch my neck or is it too risky?
My lower back also hurt, so I think I might benefit from going either way.

Is there any way at all to get a proper diagnosis of subtle neck injuries?

Should I ask for another MR scan?

There is some good news. My sensitivity to bumps and jolts has become quite a bit better over the past month. It could be thanks to the supplements and a not so strict anti-inflammatory diet.
But when I experience a big enough jolt, for example riding over a big bump, I feel it in my teeth. It's the same feeling I had for a day after my PT pressed my head very hard towards my spine, and it wasn't like this before.

What could this be?

You should be doing the exercises to reduce your FHP. FHP can put stress on the blood flow and nerve conduction through the upper neck.

If you are going to be moving your head in multiple directions, don't force the movements. Some do instinctive or reactionary movements that put strain on the joint. But, slowly moving through the range allows the joints to move properly.

Ok, I will continue with the exercises to reduce FHP.

I have tried doing the yes+no movements some more, very slowly. And I do get stiff afterwards, I can only rotate my head about 50 % of what I could before after doing these movements a couple times. From now on I am gonna be super careful about how I move my neck, unless there is a reasonable explanation as to why I get stiff afterwards. I read somewhere something along the lines of: if your spine is injured, muscle can tighten to protect it. Could this be the reason it tightens/stiffens after doing these movements?

The chiropractor I went to seemed like a quack. He did a lot of unexpected things that seemed strange to me. He he put his fingers somewhere on my chest and claimed that he checked for toxins. He slapped my back in different areas. He put his fingers on the top of my head, where I have some very tender spots, and he something along the lines of that my skull plates where locked and had to be opened up, and he said something about cerebrospinal fluid. Seems like some CST-****, which I was trying to avoid now.
I guess there are a lot of bad quacky chiropractors, but also a few good ones.

I'm thinking of going back to the physiotherapist and tell her that we should cut down on the exercises. I have a lot of trigger points over my upper body. Wouldn't it be best to get the trigger points resolved before I start to strengthen muscle?

What do you think about my neck?

Thank you so much for all your helpful replies, Mark.

*Wouldn't it be best to get the trigger points resolved before I start to strengthen muscle?*
YES!!! If PT doesn't allow for that find a better one..
Trigger point information {TrPs} for short
https://www.neurotalk.org/members/100-albums422.html

There are good and not so good - PTs , DCs, MDs the hard part is finding the really good ones.. If not so good , move on to try another.. In time by first visit you will be able to tell. if a good one or not...