Migraine
Care that is precise, unhurried, and grounded.
Evidence-Based Care · Flatiron, NYC
Migraine care: look beyond the head pain
Migraine is more than a bad headache. It is a neurological condition that can bring throbbing pain, nausea, light or sound sensitivity, and exhaustion before or after an attack. For many people, jaw tension and neck pain travel alongside it. An individualized acupuncture plan can be a supportive part of prevention and symptom management, alongside your medical care.
Which condition matches you?
Migraine without aura
Attacks often last hours to days and may be one-sided or both-sided. Pain can pulse or worsen with routine activity, and nausea, light sensitivity, or sound sensitivity are common. A diagnosis is based on a clinician’s history and exam – not on pain location alone.
Migraine with aura
Some people experience temporary visual, sensory, or language symptoms before or during an attack. New aura symptoms, especially weakness or symptoms that do not fully resolve, need medical evaluation to rule out other causes.
Frequent or chronic migraine
Headache on 15 or more days per month for more than three months, with migraine features on at least eight days per month, meets the clinical definition of chronic migraine. A headache diary helps a clinician see the true pattern and guide prevention.
Our approach
Why the jaw and neck can matter
Migraine involves an excitable sensory system, including the trigeminal nerve and signaling molecules such as CGRP. The upper neck and face send information into nearby parts of this same network, often called the trigeminocervical complex. That shared pathway helps explain why neck pain is common in migraine and why jaw pain or temporomandibular disorders can coexist. Research shows association, not proof that a tight jaw or stiff neck causes migraine. The useful clinical question is whether these areas are adding to your overall pain load and deserve attention alongside migraine-focused medical care.1,2
The evidence & the anatomy
Recent systematic reviews support acupuncture as a preventive, supportive option and report reductions in migraine frequency and overall symptom burden.3,4 We tailor care to the individual pattern and track monthly migraine days, medication use, pain intensity, light or sound sensitivity, and accompanying jaw and neck symptoms.
Trigeminal sensory system
Temporomandibular joint
Masseter and temporalis
Upper cervical muscles
Sleep and stress pattern
How we treat it — our 3-step protocol
Clarify the pattern first
We ask about attack frequency, aura, nausea, sleep, cycle-related changes, medications, jaw clenching, neck symptoms, and what makes an attack different from your usual pattern. We also screen for red flags that need medical assessment before acupuncture care.
Address
the full pain map
Traditional acupuncture may be combined with carefully selected local and distal points, and electroacupuncture when appropriate. When jaw or upper-neck tenderness is part of the presentation, those areas may be assessed as contributors to comfort and symptom load – not treated as a stand-alone cure for migraine.
Support prevention between visits
A simple migraine diary can reveal patterns in headache days, sleep, hydration, meals, stress, and medication use. We help you build a sustainable rhythm around the strategies already recommended by your medical team, while monitoring whether acupuncture is helping your own goals.
Start your recovery
References
- Bizzarri P, Manfredini D, Koutris M, Bartolini M, Buzzatti L, Bagnoli C, Scafoglieri A. Temporomandibular disorders in migraine and tension-type headache patients: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Oral Facial Pain Headache. 2024 Jun;38(2):11-24. doi: 10.22514/jofph.2024.011. Epub 2024 Jun 12. PMID: 39801093; PMCID: PMC11810655.
- Pensri C, Liang Z, Treleaven J, Jull G, Thomas L. Cervical musculoskeletal impairments in migraine and tension-type headache and relationship to pain related factors: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2025 Apr;76:103251. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2024.103251. Epub 2024 Dec 24. PMID: 39756244.
- Liu Y, Wang Y, Mi C, Wang Z, Han Y, Qi X, Ding X. Efficacy of Acupuncture-Related Therapy for Migraine: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. J Pain Res. 2024 Mar 15;17:1107-1132. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S452971. PMID: 38505499; PMCID: PMC10950004.
- Liu AR, Zhu Q, Li J, Cao Y, Pei T, Shi L. Efficacy of Acupuncture and Pharmacotherapy for Migraine Prophylaxis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Pain Res. 2025 May 17;18:2521-2540. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S519846. PMID: 40406034; PMCID: PMC12095863.
- International Headache Society. International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-3).