I have atypical facial pain and according to the neurologist I also have signs of cluster headaches and migraines. A cause for my facial pain cannot be determined. Are dry needling treatments for me?
Annette
Mark Chen, physical therapist:
Hi Annette,
Good question. From my experience, dry needling is an excellent intervention for headache-related complaints. However, I would like to make a few remarks here.
1. It is important to look for an experienced DN practitioner, possibly with a deepening for neck/face/jaw problems. This practitioner will then first conduct an investigation to see whether other cases may need to be treated in these regions.
2. In the image below you can see different areas where head and facial pain are common, with the muscles associated with it. the small black crosses characterize the muscle, the red zone the region where the complaints can express themselves.
It is important that the practitioner takes the time to look closely at these regions and try to demonstrate a relationship. If known pain can be induced by manipulating a muscle, this increases the chance that a DN treatment is a good fit.
3. Headache complaints are often a combination of factors. Think of nutrition, sleep, posture and all kinds of other stress-related factors.
So I would like to advise you to look at all these different aspects. The therapist will certainly be able to help with that!
Good luck,
Mark
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Mark Chen is a physiotherapist and NASM trained personal trainer. Since August 2014 he has been working in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His expertise lies in analyzing and optimizing movement patterns. Dry needling and medical taping are an important part of his vision and training predominates.
