BOTOX® Pain Management

Nowadays, when people hear the word BOTOX®, they commonly associate it with its cosmetic uses. Before BOTOX® was being used to treat wrinkles, though, it was used to treat a variety of ailments ranging from multiple sclerosis to stuttering. More recently, however, it has been discovered that this wonderful multipurpose drug also can significantly reduce pain associated with migraines, whiplash, and back pain.

BOTOX®, which was recently approved by the American Food and Drug Administration for cosmetic purposes on the face and neck, has yet to be approved for pain management. Nevertheless, many doctors have begun, due to patient requests, to use BOTOX® for many "off-label" uses. This completely legal practice came about as an offshoot of studies conducted after it was accidentally discovered that no only does BOTOX® reduce the visibility of wrinkles, but also has properties that are just effective in the area of pain management.

Just as BOTOX®, when injected into the muscles beneath the skin of the face to fight wrinkles causes those muscles to relax, it can also be injected into other parts of the body as well. This same process is used to treat muscle spasms. When BOTOX® relaxes these muscles, they lose their ability to contract. If these muscles are causing a patient pain due to tightness, after receiving treatment from BOTOX®, the muscles become loosened and the pain subsides.

Migraine headaches are another debilitating problem that BOTOX® can be used to treat. More than 25 million Americans suffer from migraines and more than thee times as many women suffer from migraines as men. This condition can range from severe to moderate pain and can limit one's life processes immensely since movement can increase the pain experienced by the migraine sufferer dramatically. Such attacks can last as long as 72 hours and may involve nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.

BOTOX® has been shown in clinically tested, double blind studies to reduce the incidence of migraines when used preventatively. One migraine sufferer, a man named Paul Turp, was chronically prone to migraines. Like many migraine sufferers, he was willing to try just about anything to reduce the pain he felt. He had suffered from migraines since his mid 20's and was ready to be rid of them once and for all. Of course, when Paul heard about BOTOX® he was hopeful but remained sceptical after having tried to so many other remedies promising relief.

After consulting with his doctor over the potential pain and side effects associated with BOTOX® which he discovered were minimal, Paul was ready to give BOTOX® a chance. Since that day, Paul has never looked back. And Paul is not alone. More and more people are using BOTOX® to treat migraines. Also, when the migraines do occur in patients who are treated with BOTOX®, they tend to be less severe and are not accompanied by many of the above symptoms such as vomiting.

It is indeed a very exciting time in BOTOX® research into pain management. It is more than likely only a matter of time before the FDA approves BOTOX® for migraines, back and neck pain, and possibly other pain-related ailments as well.