Case Study: dry needling offers Portland tech employee relief from chronic headaches

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A 24-year-old female complains of daily frontal headaches with unknown cause. She reports that they aren’t affected by water intake, food sensitivities, or her menstrual cycle. She does not experience relief from over-the-counter NSAIDs or anti-inflammatories. 

The patient was introduced to acupuncture and dry needling at a To The Point PDX worksite wellness pop-up at her company–a local fin-tech company. Prior to attending the introductory needling demonstration, the patient never considered trying acupuncture due to a fear of needles. Since her health insurance covered the procedure and she met and trusted the practitioner, the patient decided to give it a try and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Sarah Stevens at To The Point PDX.

Upon examination, active, latent and satellite trigger points were found in the anterior, posterior and medial scalenes. In addition, the patient reported tenderness upon palpation of the levator scapula, the splenius cervicis and capitis muscles.

After one trigger point therapy or dry needling treatment, the patient reported an 80% improvement in her frontal headaches. After her second treatment, the patient reported that she no longer experienced frontal headaches.

After successful treatment of her headaches, the patient has returned to To The Point PDX on a monthly basis for over 5 years to help manage muscle tightness and fatigue from marathon, ultramarathon running and Crossfit workouts. The patient consistently responds well to dry needling for a variety of sports-related overuse strains.


Dry needling is an effective treatment that can be administered by acupuncturists and/or physical therapists (depending on the state you live in). In Oregon, dry needling can only be performed by licensed acupuncturists. At To The Point PDX we have two acupuncturists who are highly trained in dry needling. Christina Lambert, L.Ac. completed 27 hours of training in dry  needling and Dr. Sarah Stevens, L.Ac. is nationally certified in dry needling by Myopain Seminars. 

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Case Study: acupuncture helps athlete climb Mt. Fuji