Treating Migraines with Neurological Dry Needling
What is a migraine, and what causes them?
Migraine headaches are a genetic neurological disease. Multiple factors can trigger migraines, such as hormones, stress, lack of sleep, alcohol, caffeine, food allergies, overuse of medications, smell, light, and dehydration.
Injury to the neck muscles, joints, and nerves can cause migraine-like symptoms and trigger a migraine in sensitive individuals. We refer to problems with this area of the body as cervicogenic.
What is a cervicogenic headache?
Cervicogenic issues may arise from a sports injury, whiplash, arthritis, pinched nerve, muscle strain, or poor posture.
Dry needling can treat most cervicogenic headaches and help individuals with the migraine headaches they trigger.
How does neurological dry needling help treat headaches?
Studies show that the trigeminal nerve is overstimulated and inflamed in cervicogenic and migraine headaches. Integrative Dry Needling System (IDNS) techniques can help reduce the inflammation of this nerve and its many branches, thereby decreasing the frequency and intensity of migraine headaches.
How can Coach Amy help you with your headaches?
Coach Amy is certified in IDNS. She treats the neuromuscular and biomechanical causes of both types of headaches with the following:
patient education
dry needling
manual therapy techniques like active release
joint mobilization
posture and biomechanics training
“After the first treatment, the results were life-changing. For six months I had woken up with a headache, but these immediately disappeared. For over a year, I often canceled plans because I could not leave home, but now I can plan because I know I won’t be stuck in bed with a headache. In the past five months, I have only had 3-4 migraines, which are less severe. Dry needling with Coach Amy has been central to my recovery.”
While dry needling will not cure migraine headaches, it may help decrease the frequency and intensity, especially those triggered by cervicogenic issues.
Schedule an appointment with Coach Amy to evaluate if neurological dry needling and physical therapy can help minimize your migraines and improve your quality of life.