Neck Pain Treatment in Greenville, SC
Neck Pain Treatment in Greenville, SC. Root-cause acupuncture + functional medicine. Dr. Hendry, DAOM, NCBAHM-certified. Call (864) 365-6156.
"Excellent. I was a skeptic and informed Dr. Hendry of such. I have a broken neck from a racing accident over 40 plus years ago. The results have been remarkable and I am a believer in acupuncture."
— Michael F. McLeod · April 2015 · Google Review
Acute torticollis — woke up unable to turn your head — responds to a single needle in Ling Gu (a Master Tung point in the hand) faster than anything else I've tried in twenty-five years. That response illustrates why neck pain treatment requires knowing which tool fits each clinical presentation. The chronic postural neck with escalating headaches needs suboccipital decompression and upper trapezius trigger point work. The cervical radiculopathy with arm tingling needs electroacupuncture along the nerve root distribution. Same region. Completely different protocols.
How Neck Pain Treatment Works
Neck pain treatment combines acupuncture at cervical Bladder, Gallbladder, and Governing Vessel points with trigger point dry needling of the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, SCM, scalenes, and suboccipital muscles. Joint restrictions may also be addressed through point selection on the cervical Huatuojiaji points. Electroacupuncture is added for neuropathic components (cervical radiculopathy, numbness into arms and hands).
Conditions Treated with Neck Pain Treatment
Cervical Dry Needling and Acupuncture vs. Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection for Cervicogenic Pain
Cervical epidural steroid injection delivers corticosteroid into the cervical epidural space to reduce nerve root inflammation associated with disc herniation or foraminal stenosis. The procedure is appropriate for acute radiculopathy producing significant functional impairment and provides short-term relief in appropriately selected patients. The procedure carries risks specific to the cervical spine, including rare but serious complications from inadvertent vascular injection, and does not address the myofascial trigger points in the suboccipital, scalene, and cervical paraspinal muscles that generate the majority of chronic cervicogenic pain patterns. Galloway and Marskey (Int J Sports Phys Ther, 2012) demonstrated that dry needling of cervical trigger points improves both pain and functional range of motion, addressing the muscular root causes that epidural injection leaves untreated. For the common presentation of chronic cervicogenic headache with neck stiffness, the primary driver is myofascial, not radiculopathic, and a cervical epidural provides no therapeutic mechanism for trigger point deactivation. Our approach uses needling protocols precisely matched to the clinical source of each patient's cervical pain, whether that is suboccipital, facet-mediated, or discogenic, avoiding the risks of an interventional procedure when conservative needling is indicated and effective.
Research & Evidence
Cervical spine pain involving C2 through C7 is the second most prevalent musculoskeletal complaint after low back pain, and its clinical complexity reflects the convergence of facet joint, disc, and myofascial sources with the rich neurological structures of the cervical region. Suboccipital trigger points at C1-C2 refer pain into the posterior skull and temporal region, producing cervicogenic headache. Scalene and sternocleidomastoid trigger points reproduce arm pain, facial pain, and ear symptoms that are frequently misattributed to other pathologies. Galloway M and Marskey R (Int J Sports Phys Ther, 2012) reviewed dry needling of trigger points for neck pain, finding evidence supporting its use for both pain reduction and restoration of cervical range of motion. Our cervical protocols integrate acupuncture at distal points that modulate cervical afferent input through the thalamo-cortical pathway with local dry needling of the specific trigger points generating each patient's pain pattern. Cervical electroacupuncture provides additional segmental inhibition for radicular patterns extending into the arm.
Your First Appointment
Bring any cervical MRI or X-ray reports. Describe your pain, stiffness, and any radiation into the shoulders, arms, or hands. History of whiplash, cervical disc disease, prior surgery, or chiropractic care is all relevant.
Why Dr. Hendry for Neck Pain Treatment
Dr. Hendry's 25 years of cervical spine treatment experience includes whiplash injuries, disc herniations, degenerative disc disease, and post-surgical neck pain. His trigger point expertise is particularly valuable for the complex cervical muscle patterns that drive most neck pain.