Botox Injections
What Is Botox and How Does It Work?
Botox is a medical form of a neurotoxin called botulinum toxin that is produced by the bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. Botox is injected in key muscle areas of the head and neck around the pain fibers involved in headaches. The Botox enters the nerve endings where it blocks the release of chemicals involved in pain transmission, thereby preventing the activation of pain networks in the brain.
What Conditions Can Botox Treat?
Botox injections are a type of injection that works for migraine headaches by blocking neurotransmitters, that are chemicals in your brain that carry pain signals.
Botox is the FDA-approved method for chronic migraines (headaches for 15 or more days a month). This procedure is more effective for those who have more frequent headaches. Botox is not recommended for patients who experience fewer than 15 headache days a month.
Botox can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions including cervical dystonia, chronic migraine, muscle contractures, and more.
Chronic Migraine: Chronic Migraine is one that lasts at least 15 headache days per month with at least eight of those days having migraine-like symptoms. In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States approved Botox for the preventative treatment of chronic migraines. Botox is prescribed for people with persistent migraines who experience at least 15 headaches per month that last for four hours or more. Botox injections can help patients with chronic migraines reduce the frequency of their headaches as well as the debilitating symptoms that come with them.
Cervical Dystonia: Botox is also used for the treatment of cervical dystonia, which is a condition where your neck muscles spasm uncontrollably, causing your head to painfully turn or twist to one side.
Muscle contractures: Botox enters nerve cells where it releases an enzyme that stops muscles from contracting, thereby relieving symptoms of spasticity like muscle contraction or muscle stiffness.