Headaches & Migraines Treatment in Greenville, SC
Natural headache and migraine treatment in Greenville, SC. Dr. Hendry's acupuncture and functional medicine approach reduces frequency and severity. Call (864) 365-6156.
"I can't say enough good things about Dr. Hendry. He really listens to your experience and what you need to share about your situation, is patient, and takes the time to explain clearly what acupuncture is about."
— Catherine Hosack · April 2015 · Google Review
What Is Headaches & Migraines?
A patient who has had migraines for ten years already knows their triggers. They know barometric pressure changes start one. They know two glasses of red wine will cause one. They can predict a migraine by the prodrome that begins 36 hours before. What they don't know is why — why their nervous system remains persistently sensitized to inputs that other people tolerate without issue. That sensitization is the actual condition. Migraines are a disorder of central pain processing: the brain's threshold for triggering a cascade of neuroinflammation has been lowered — by magnesium deficiency, hormonal fluctuations, gut-derived histamine, mitochondrial energy deficits. Managing triggers helps. Lowering the baseline sensitization resolves them. These require different approaches.
Common Symptoms
Root Causes: A Functional Medicine Perspective
Migraines are driven by neuroinflammation and altered central sensitization — the brain's pain-processing systems become hypersensitive to triggers that wouldn't affect others. Triggers are diverse: hormonal fluctuations (particularly estrogen changes around menstruation), dietary factors (tyramine, MSG, alcohol), sleep disruption, stress, and barometric pressure changes.
Functionally, magnesium deficiency is found in the majority of migraine sufferers — magnesium plays a key role in nerve conduction and vascular tone. Mitochondrial dysfunction reduces cellular energy production, lowering the threshold for migraine attacks. Gut dysbiosis and intestinal permeability generate systemic inflammation that crosses the blood-brain barrier and sensitizes the trigeminal nerve system underlying migraine pathophysiology. Histamine intolerance from impaired DAO enzyme activity is increasingly recognized as a significant migraine driver.
How We Treat Headaches & Migraines at IHP
Acupuncture for migraine prevention has been validated in numerous large randomized trials, with the landmark Cochrane review (2016) concluding that acupuncture is at least as effective as prophylactic drug treatments for reducing migraine frequency — with fewer side effects. Dr. Hendry uses a combination of local points at the head and distal points that regulate the nervous system and reduce trigeminal sensitization.
Functional medicine testing identifies specific migraine drivers: magnesium, coenzyme Q10, and riboflavin (vitamin B2) deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, food sensitivities, and gut microbiome disruptions. Addressing these systemic drivers reduces the baseline neuroinflammation that makes the brain vulnerable to triggering, resulting in fewer, less severe attacks over time.
Dr. Hendry's Approach
I work to understand what's lowering each patient's migraine threshold specifically — not just reduce frequency through generic protocol. For some patients, a six-week magnesium correction changes everything. For others, it's a hormonal pattern tied to the menstrual cycle that requires a more involved evaluation. For others, cervicogenic dysfunction in the suboccipitals is driving what presents as migraines. I distinguish between these because the treatment that works for one doesn't work for the others.