There has been many new uses for botulinum toxin injections in recent years in the cosmetic medicine industry. Not only do clinics offer patients options to enhance their appearance using botox, there are other disorders that are treatable this way as well, including muscle spasticity. For a short time now, some patients have been receiving botox injections in order to treat their migraines.
In this article we shall take a brief look at this new application of botox injections.
Background behind this idea
Paralyzation occurs in the muscles due to botox injections, and because of this, the muscles stay in a relaxed position as they don't receive the nerve signals. Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium contained in these injections, and that is the cause of the effect. The main usage is for muscles different parts of the eyes, face and body to be relaxed, which will increase muscle tone and make the general muscle function be improved.
Botox for migraine treatments
The release of serotonin which is a neuro-chemical, is how migraines are mediated. Treatments of botox do not affect that, but there is evidence that shows patients who find relief from migraine pain from the treatments.
People are looking forward to the new research that is being done that seems to show that migraines can be reduced using these treatments. The recommendations from the studies is to inject the botox into the scalp at around 31 -39 different points in patients. There are a number of theories that have been postulated:
Number one would be that pain signals in nerves are blocked by these injections.
After that, the muscles in the scalp are relaxed, which in turn, causes the brain to have a lower blood pressure.
Patients are reporting less headaches, and less severe when they occur, although the research to document this is still ongoing at this time.
Botox injections are recommended for chronic migraine sufferers who have had headaches for more than 15 days in a month and in those who have not responded to different drug treatments. There is another condition that migraine sufferers sometimes are face with at times called analgesic overuse headaches, which are caused by the overuse of painkiller medication.
If they treatments make it so that less than 15 days a month are headache free, or if they have at least 2 cycles of botox without seeing any relief, then this may not be the right treatment for that particular patient.
What risks are there?
Botox injections into the scalp may cause neck pain and allergic reactions, but these are rare.
Summary
Botox injections are still relatively new when it comes to treatment for migraines, but it is gaining in popularity. Botox treatments for chronic migraine look like they are effective, but at this time, further study needs to be concluded in order for these claims to be verified.
In this article we shall take a brief look at this new application of botox injections.
Background behind this idea
Paralyzation occurs in the muscles due to botox injections, and because of this, the muscles stay in a relaxed position as they don't receive the nerve signals. Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium contained in these injections, and that is the cause of the effect. The main usage is for muscles different parts of the eyes, face and body to be relaxed, which will increase muscle tone and make the general muscle function be improved.
Botox for migraine treatments
The release of serotonin which is a neuro-chemical, is how migraines are mediated. Treatments of botox do not affect that, but there is evidence that shows patients who find relief from migraine pain from the treatments.
People are looking forward to the new research that is being done that seems to show that migraines can be reduced using these treatments. The recommendations from the studies is to inject the botox into the scalp at around 31 -39 different points in patients. There are a number of theories that have been postulated:
Number one would be that pain signals in nerves are blocked by these injections.
After that, the muscles in the scalp are relaxed, which in turn, causes the brain to have a lower blood pressure.
Patients are reporting less headaches, and less severe when they occur, although the research to document this is still ongoing at this time.
Botox injections are recommended for chronic migraine sufferers who have had headaches for more than 15 days in a month and in those who have not responded to different drug treatments. There is another condition that migraine sufferers sometimes are face with at times called analgesic overuse headaches, which are caused by the overuse of painkiller medication.
If they treatments make it so that less than 15 days a month are headache free, or if they have at least 2 cycles of botox without seeing any relief, then this may not be the right treatment for that particular patient.
What risks are there?
Botox injections into the scalp may cause neck pain and allergic reactions, but these are rare.
Summary
Botox injections are still relatively new when it comes to treatment for migraines, but it is gaining in popularity. Botox treatments for chronic migraine look like they are effective, but at this time, further study needs to be concluded in order for these claims to be verified.
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