Everything feels too bright and loud
Screens, noise and crowded rooms bother you more than they used to, especially late in the day.
The headache seems to need less and less to start. A short night, a skipped meal, a bright screen or a noisy room can be enough. It may come with nausea, a stuffy nose, a watery eye, sweating or a restless, wired feeling. Even on good days, the threshold feels low.
Neurogenic headache describes pain driven mainly by nerve sensitivity rather than one structural problem. The trigeminal nerve carries feeling from the face and forehead. It reports to the same brainstem hub as the nerves of the upper neck. When input to that hub stays high, it turns up the volume, and normal signals start to register as pain. The body’s stress response often stays switched on too, which tightens the jaw and neck and disturbs sleep.
At the temple, a tight temporalis muscle can crowd the zygomaticotemporal nerve, a small branch that supplies the skin there. Dry needling, a form of acupuncture, eases that muscle so the nerve has room. The supratrochlear nerve, which supplies the inner brow and center of the forehead, can stay irritable on its own. There I use electroacupuncture, fine needles beside the nerve with a gentle current, aiming to shift how it fires. That brainstem hub also takes input from the top of the neck. So I treat the area just below the skull to help lower the overall volume.
Most people have seen a primary doctor or neurologist, had a normal MRI or CT, and tried several medications. The scan is the right step for ruling out a serious cause. Medication can dampen pain on a given day, though it may not change the steady input keeping these nerves sensitive. Nerve sensitivity and a stress response stuck on high don’t appear on imaging, so they are easy to leave untreated.
I ask how your headaches have changed over time, what now sets one off, and which symptoms come with the pain. Then the exam:
I work alongside primary care doctors and neurologists. If my findings raise a question for one of them, I’ll say so and forward my notes.
It describes a pattern rather than replacing a medical diagnosis. I use it to explain headaches kept going by sensitive face and neck nerves, even when scans are normal. Your doctor or neurologist makes the diagnosis.
Muscles are part of it, and I treat the ones that matter. The bigger target is the nerve sensitivity that keeps those muscles and the headache reactive. That’s why treatment includes the forehead nerves and the area beneath the skull, not only the neck.
It’s usually a combination, since the cause tends to sit at more than one level. Releasing the temple muscle frees up the small nerve beside it. Gentle current aims to help a sensitive forehead nerve settle, and work beneath the skull targets the central volume.
Most people feel a light pulsing or tapping where the needle sits. I set the intensity to what feels comfortable and lower it whenever you ask. Responses vary from person to person.
Rather than a fixed count, I think in blocks: two appointments each week for six weeks when the pattern is milder, or three each week for four weeks when it is more entrenched or slow to move. Nerves sensitized for years respond best to regular, close input. As your headache days fall and stay down, I spread visits out.
Get emergency care for a sudden, explosive headache, or a headache with weakness, speech changes, facial droop or vision loss. Fainting, fever with a stiff neck, or a severe headache after a head injury also need urgent care. So does a new headache in pregnancy, or one with unexplained weight loss or night sweats.
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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