The use of botulinum toxin injections has advanced tremendously over the last few years. There are clinics that offer effective treatments for cosmetic reasons and also for muscle spasticity disorders as well. Migraines are one of the newer conditions that botox has been used to treat.
In this article we shall take a brief look at this new application of botox injections.
The origins of using this treatment for migraines
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. A bacterium called Clostridium botulinum causes this result. Its primary use is to relax the muscles around the eyes and other parts of the body, helping restore muscle tone and improving overall function.
Botox in migraine
Migraine is primarily mediated by the release of the neuro-chemical serotonin. Botox does not have any effect on this, but studies have shown that it can still help reduce pain in patients suffering from migraine.
This is still being researched and the reasons for the correlation are not clear at this time, but people are still pleased with the results they receive for their migraine issues. Botox has been suggested to be injected at 31 to 39 different points in the scalp. The most common theories that have been put forth:
The first thing is that nerve signal pain is stopped from being received.
After that, the muscles in the scalp are relaxed, which in turn, causes the brain to have a lower blood pressure.
The research is still preliminary, but at this point, it seems that patients are finding that their headaches are less painful and frequent, and they are happier in general.
When a patient reports migraine headaches that happen for over 15 days a month, and do not receive relief from other types of treatment are sometimes recommended to have botox injections. A condition called 'analgesic overuse headache', which is headache due to overuse of painkillers, also needs to be ruled out.
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?
There have been rare reports of allergic reactions or neck pain from botox scalp injections.
Conclusion
Botox injections are still relatively new when it comes to treatment for migraines, but it is gaining in popularity. Research is still being conducted and the results so far have been promising, making it a treatment that is currently approved in managing chronic migraine.
In this article we shall take a brief look at this new application of botox injections.
The origins of using this treatment for migraines
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. A bacterium called Clostridium botulinum causes this result. Its primary use is to relax the muscles around the eyes and other parts of the body, helping restore muscle tone and improving overall function.
Botox in migraine
Migraine is primarily mediated by the release of the neuro-chemical serotonin. Botox does not have any effect on this, but studies have shown that it can still help reduce pain in patients suffering from migraine.
This is still being researched and the reasons for the correlation are not clear at this time, but people are still pleased with the results they receive for their migraine issues. Botox has been suggested to be injected at 31 to 39 different points in the scalp. The most common theories that have been put forth:
The first thing is that nerve signal pain is stopped from being received.
After that, the muscles in the scalp are relaxed, which in turn, causes the brain to have a lower blood pressure.
The research is still preliminary, but at this point, it seems that patients are finding that their headaches are less painful and frequent, and they are happier in general.
When a patient reports migraine headaches that happen for over 15 days a month, and do not receive relief from other types of treatment are sometimes recommended to have botox injections. A condition called 'analgesic overuse headache', which is headache due to overuse of painkillers, also needs to be ruled out.
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?
There have been rare reports of allergic reactions or neck pain from botox scalp injections.
Conclusion
Botox injections are still relatively new when it comes to treatment for migraines, but it is gaining in popularity. Research is still being conducted and the results so far have been promising, making it a treatment that is currently approved in managing chronic migraine.
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