Burning or electric groin pain
Often follows a line through the groin crease, inner thigh or above the pubic bone, and flares with coughing or rolling over.
Post hernia repair neuralgia is nerve pain that continues after the repair has healed. It often follows a line through the groin crease, inner thigh or above the pubic bone. Waistbands and seatbelts can feel intolerable, and coughing, rolling in bed or standing tall can set off a jolt.
Three nerves are usually involved: the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric and genitofemoral nerves. Scar tissue and stiff fascia can tether them, and guarded abdominal, hip flexor and pelvic floor muscles can press on them. Sometimes the nervous system stays reactive long after healing and keeps amplifying pain from the area.
Your surgeon evaluates the repair and any complications. My part is the nerve pain and what keeps it going, using dry needling, a form of acupuncture, and electroacupuncture. The genitofemoral nerve runs along the front of the psoas, so a guarded psoas can press on it. Needling that muscle aims to free it. For an ilioinguinal or iliohypogastric nerve that stays irritable, fine needles near the nerve carry a gentle current to help change how it signals. Sometimes the whole system is amplifying the pain. In that case I also work at the spinal levels that serve the groin, T12 to L2, to help calm it.
Follow up after repair rightly focuses on complications and confirming the repair is intact. When nerve pain persists, the usual next steps are medication, more time and sometimes general rehab. Imaging can look normal while a nerve stays sensitive to stretch or pressure. Medication may dull the pain without freeing a tethered nerve or easing guarded muscles. If physical therapy was part of your recovery, dry needling is a different tool. New York does not let physical therapists or chiropractors use it.
I ask when your surgery was, where the pain travels, and which clothes, positions or activities set it off. Then the exam:
I work alongside your surgeon, pain management doctor and pelvic floor physical therapist. If my findings point to something one of them should review, I’ll let you know and pass on what I found.
Your surgeon should check the repair and rule out complications first. Nerve pain tends to burn, zap or sting with specific positions, pressure or stretch. A normal scan doesn’t rule it out.
Contact your surgeon or urgent care promptly for a new bulge or worsening swelling, fever, or redness or drainage at the incision. Severe escalating pain, vomiting, signs of a bowel blockage, or sudden testicular pain and swelling also need prompt evaluation. If you’re unsure, err on the side of calling.
I don’t needle into the repair site or the mesh. I work on the guarded muscles and stiff tissue around the region, conservatively and with clear safety limits. Timing depends on how far you are from surgery and on your surgeon’s guidance.
More than one approach usually applies, so treatment is typically a combination. Easing the psoas relieves pressure on one of the groin nerves, and electroacupuncture helps when a nerve keeps sending pain signals. Work at the spinal levels is added when the whole system seems turned up.
Physical therapy can be an important part of recovery. Dry needling is useful when movement alone provokes the nerve too much. Mapping the scar, nerves and guarded muscles can make exercise easier to tolerate, and I often work alongside pelvic floor PT.
Yes. With your permission, I share findings and progress so your team has the same picture of what is being treated. That coordination often helps with persistent pain after surgery.
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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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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