Is There a Dry Needling Clinic in Jacksonville for Headaches and Migraines?

Yes. Full Swing Healthcare treats headaches with dry needling regularly, specifically targeting the suboccipital muscles, upper trapezius, and sternocleidomastoid that drive most cervicogenic and tension headache presentations.

Where Most Headaches Actually Come From

The suboccipital muscles sit at the base of the skull and connect the upper cervical vertebrae to the occiput. When they harbor active trigger points, they refer pain in a band over the top of the head. The pattern is identical to what most patients call a tension headache. The upper trapezius refers into the side of the head and temple. The SCM refers into the forehead and behind the eye.

These muscles become chronically hypertonic in people who sustain forward head posture for hours daily, which is most people who work at a computer. The trigger points that develop are reloaded constantly by normal daily activity. Medication manages the headache. Dry needling addresses the tissue generating it.

What the Results Look Like

A patient from the Beaches area had been managing two to three headaches per week for over a year with medication. When Dr. Muren assessed her, the bilateral suboccipital trigger points reproduced her exact headache pattern on palpation. He needled the suboccipitals and upper trapezius in the first session. Her headache frequency dropped from three per week to one in the first two weeks. After four sessions she went three weeks without any.

That result is not universal. Some patients need more sessions. Some have more complex drivers. But for straightforward cervicogenic headache presentations, needling the right muscles produces changes that nothing else quite matches.

When Acupuncture Is the Better Choice

For headaches with a strong stress or autonomic component, or for migraines specifically, we often use acupuncture rather than or in addition to dry needling. Dr. Muren is a certified acupuncturist and will assess at your first visit which approach makes more sense for your specific pattern.

(904) 539-3352. 13770 Beach Blvd #4, Jacksonville FL 32224.

Written by

Dr. Cody Muren, DC

Doctor of Chiropractic · Certified Acupuncturist