Dry needling for migraine pain might be the right treatment option for you, yet you may need to do some investigative work to find out what is causing the migraine pain in any case.
There are numerous reasons for migraine pain. This may feel overwhelming for you as you attempt to make sense of what the root cause is. However, one of the most widely recognized reasons for migraine pain is an imbalance of the muscles surrounding the head.
Known to be a debilitating neurological condition represented by moderate to intense headaches, it is more than obvious that if you suffer from migraines you may be in constant search for treatment options that could reduce and even prevent them from happening. Being an alternative to drug-based therapies, dry needling has shown great results over the years.
Also known as intramuscular stimulation or myofascial trigger point dry needling, this is an alternative medicine therapy that has much in common with acupuncture due to its involvement in the use of both solid stainless steel, filiform needles or hollow-core ones in order to treat muscular pain, primarily.
The “dry” aspect of this therapy appears because the needles used in the technique do not inject any fluid into the body.
How It’s Done
Dry needling consists in placing the needles directly inside or around trigger points, which are hyper-irritable tissue areas of knotted or hard muscle that can produce muscular pain or spasms, with the aim of helping to release the discomfort in a safe and effective way. These needles remain inside the skin for a period of time decided by the health practitioner.
As per migraines, this therapy can help treat these neurological conditions due to its capacity of releasing trigger points specifically located in muscles, such as the temporalis, masseters, sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, levator scapulae, among others muscles groups, by producing some physiological effects, including:
- Decrease of pain threshold.
- Deactivation of nociceptors.
- Release of endogenous opioids.
- Increase in blood flow.
With these factors in mind, if practiced by properly trained professionals, dry needling is an extremely safe treatment option for migraines. If non-sterile needles are used, you may be at risk for contracting blood-borne illnesses, infection, and diseases. You must ensure your SF acupuncturist uses sterile needles and disposes of them after each use. The existing side effects are very rare and mild, including minor bruising or bleeding and pain at the needling site, usually on needle withdrawal.
What Other Types of Conditions Can It Help With?
- Neck Pain or Back Pain
- Shoulder Pain
- Tennis Elbow or Golfer’s Elbow
- Tension Headaches
- Hip and Gluteal Pain
- Knee Pain
- Achilles Tendonitis/Tendonosis
- Foot Pain and Plantar Fasciitis
- Sciatica
- Muscular Strains/Ligament Sprains
- Athletic Performance
So, if you live or work near the San Francisco Telegraph Hill – North Beach – Financial District and feel you would be a good candidate for our trigger point dry needling treatments, we would love to meet you. To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first dry needling treatment.
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