Headaches that start at the base of my skull
They often climb over the top of the head or settle behind one eye, especially after desk work or a bad night's sleep.
Attacks come back on a schedule you can almost predict: after poor sleep, a deadline week, or a long flight. Some start at the base of the skull and wrap forward. Others arrive with light sensitivity, nausea, and a foggy day after.
Migraine is a medical diagnosis, and your doctor manages it. Alongside it, there is often a physical layer that keeps the threshold low. Tight suboccipital, temporalis and masseter muscles, stiff upper neck joints, and irritated nerves at the back of the head can all feed the cycle.
Dry needling, a form of acupuncture, is how I treat the muscle side. At the back of the head, semispinalis capitis and the small obliquus capitis inferior can press on the greater occipital nerve. Releasing those muscles gives the nerve space. Where that nerve is irritable in its own right, I use electroacupuncture: fine needles near it with a gentle current, to help shift its signaling. I also work at C1 to C3, where neck and head pain signals meet, to help quiet a system that has become amplified.
Most people with recurring headaches have tried preventive and rescue medications, supplements, and sometimes imaging. Medication is a sound first line, and it targets the chemistry of an attack. It isn’t designed to change a tight neck, a clenching habit, or an irritated occipital nerve. Imaging is often normal because those things don’t show on a scan. If you’ve had neck work from a physical therapist or chiropractor, dry needling is a different tool. Neither can legally use it in New York.
I ask how often attacks come, what sets them off, which medications you use, and what testing you’ve already had. Then the exam:
I work alongside your neurologist and primary care doctor. If anything I find suggests a check in with them, I’ll let you know and share my notes.
I treat the neck, jaw and nerve sources that commonly feed both. Migraine itself is a medical diagnosis your doctor manages. My part is to help ease the physical inputs that can make attacks easier to set off.
No. Medication decisions stay with the clinician who prescribes them. I treat alongside whatever you take, and any change to it is a conversation with that clinician.
Not usually. Most of what I treat for headaches doesn’t appear on a scan. If you already have imaging, I read it as part of your history.
It’s usually a combination, because more than one source tends to be involved. Easing the small muscles under the skull takes pressure off the occipital nerves. If a nerve stays sensitive, electroacupuncture is added. Work at the top of the neck comes in when the whole system is on alert.
With proper training and close attention to anatomy, it can be used conservatively in the neck and face. I screen your health history and medications first. Then I adapt the technique to your comfort.
Go right away for a sudden, severe headache, new weakness, slurred speech or confusion, fainting, or fever with neck stiffness. A headache after a head injury needs urgent care too. So do new headaches in pregnancy or after giving birth, or with a history of cancer or a weakened immune system. So does a major change in pattern after age 50. For frequent migraines or medication questions, ongoing care with a neurologist or primary care doctor is the right place.
Adults with pelvic floor, nerve and orthopedic pain, along with neurological conditions. Most of my patients come to me after other care hasn't fully settled things. If you're looking for general wellness acupuncture, I'm not the right fit.
We review your history and what you've already tried. I assess the muscles and nerves involved, and you're treated the same day.
It depends on the condition. Pelvic and orthopedic plans usually run 4 to 6 weeks. Neurological plans are usually 2 visits a week for 6 weeks or 3 a week for 4. After that, visits space out so the changes hold. These are typical timelines, not promises.
Yes. I work alongside doctors, physical therapists and specialists. If something I find needs a closer look from one of them, I'll tell you.
I'm an out-of-network provider. You pay at the time of your visit, and my office submits the claim so any reimbursement comes to you. Free benefit checks are available before your first visit through the verification form, and HSA and FSA cards work. I don't take Medicare or Medicaid, though some Medicare Advantage plans reimburse out-of-network care. Full insurance details
Yes. I treat adults, teens and children, though I don't specialize in infants or toddlers.
Yes. Book a free discovery call to ask your questions and see whether we're a good fit.
Dry needling is a form of acupuncture. Fine needles go into tight bands of muscle and trigger points to lower muscle tension and change how the area is signaling.
You may feel a brief twitch or a deep ache as the needle reaches tight muscle. It passes quickly, and any soreness afterward usually fades within a day or two.
It's generally safe with a properly trained practitioner. Needles are sterile and single-use, and I check your health history first, including blood thinners. In New York, dry needling can only be performed by licensed acupuncturists, MDs and DOs. Physical therapists and chiropractors aren't permitted to perform it.
Eat something light beforehand and wear loose clothing that lets me reach the area being treated.
Usually not. Ultrasound helps in a few specific cases, but it hasn't been shown to improve results for common trigger points. A careful hands-on exam is what guides the needle. More on ultrasound-guided dry needling
Dry needling aimed at the pelvic floor and the hip and abdominal muscles around it, for pain, tension and urinary symptoms driven by those muscles and their nerves. More on pelvic floor dry needling
Sometimes, depending on the muscles involved, and you'll be draped throughout. Treatment always follows your consent and comfort. I don't do internal exams or internal treatment.
No, though it helps if you've already seen a doctor or pelvic floor physical therapist. Bring any notes or imaging you have.
Completely. I've heard it all, and there's no judgment here, just a straightforward conversation so we can treat what's going on.
Yes, I treat adults of every gender and identity. After gender-affirming surgery involving the pelvis, bring your surgical notes and we'll decide together what fits.
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118 W. 72nd St, Rear Lobby, New York, NY 10023
Evidence-based acupuncture and dry needling on the Upper West Side. From chronic pain and headaches to pelvic floor dysfunction, Dr. Jordan Barber pairs the highest level of training with care that actually listens.
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