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Botox As A Migraine Treatment

By Cali Marinaw

Botox As A Migraine Treatment


There has been many new uses for botulinum toxin injections in recent years in the cosmetic medicine industry. There are clinics that offer effective treatments for cosmetic reasons and also for muscle spasticity disorders as well. In the recent past, its use has now been extended to treating migraines.

In this article we shall take a brief look at this new application of botox injections.

Background

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.

Migraines and botox

The release of serotonin which is a neuro-chemical, is how migraines are mediated. This is not affected by botox, however, patients notice a decrease in pain from migraines after having 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:

The first thing is that nerve signal pain is stopped from being received.

Next, that it relaxes the scalp muscles and may help reduce blood pressure within the brain

Even though research is still in early stages, there appears to be good evidence supporting its use particularly because it can help reduce the frequency of headaches and also improve the quality of life of patients.

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. 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.

Treatments should be stopped if 2 cycles of botox injection treatments have failed, or the character of the migraine has changed and no longer meets the criteria of occurring on 15 days of a month.

What risks are there?

Botox injections into the scalp may cause neck pain and allergic reactions, but these are rare.

Conclusion

The uses of botox are still growing and its application in migraine is novel. 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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