Botox serves as a highly effective medical treatment for a broad spectrum of pain conditions. This neurotoxin has been used for medical purposes for over 30 years, and new uses are continuously being discovered. Botox can be used for the pain management for some muscle-related conditions, including migraines and muscle spasms, as well as some joint and nerve pain disorders, and much more

When patients have their first online or in-person consultation with one of our Pain Specialists, they are usually very surprised to learn that long before Botox was famed for the keeping wrinkles at bay, it was already being administered for physical medicine and rehabilitation. This is because Dr. Guy Fried, a chief medical officer at the American Magee Rehabilitation Hospital “along with other physical medicine and rehabilitation physician specialists across the country, participated in the groundbreaking original research to study and establish Botox’s clinical usefulness for patients with chronic disabilities. As a result, Botox injections were found to be a helpful tool for people who experience chronic muscle stiffness, spasticity and pain, as well as a variety of neurological disorders” [2].

Chronic pain is extremely difficult to manage, and currently available drugs are limited by dangerous side effects. Opioids like morphine and fentanyl are the gold standard for short-term pain relief but they cannot effectively treat chronic pain due to the risk of addition, abuse and overdose, as this is why our globally renowned Pain Specialists here at the London Pain Clinic recommend Botox for pain management

Is Your Condition On This List? If So, It Could Be Treated With Botox

HEADACHE & FACIAL PAIN CONDITIONS

• Chronic Migraines
• Tension-Type Headaches
• Cluster Headaches
• Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ/TMD)
• Orofacial Pain (a frequent type of pain which is perceived in the oral cavity and/or face. It can be generated by regional structure disorders and diseases, nervous system dysfunction, or via referral from distant sources)

NECK & SHOULDER PAIN

• Myofascial Pain Syndrome
• Trapezius Muscle Spasms

BACK & SPINAL PAIN

• Chronic Lower Back Pain (in specific cases where muscular spasticity or myofascial pain is a significant contributor)
• Thoracic Myofascial Pain Syndrome (persistent muscle spasms in the upper back)
• Sciatica (nerve pain from an injury or irritation to your sciatic nerve)

NEUROPATHIC PAIN & NERVE-RELATED CONDITIONS

• Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Post-Herpetic Neuralgia
• Post-Surgical or Post-Traumatic Neuropathy

PELVIC PAIN CONDITIONS

• Vulvodynia (a form of chronic discomfort or pain around the outer region of the vulva/ female genitals. It is present for at least three months)
• Vaginismus (a condition in which the muscles of a female’s vagina spasm or squeeze when something such as a penis or tampon is enters it. The experience can be on a spectrum from mildly uncomfortable to quite painful)
• Chronic (Long-Term) Pelvic Pain (which could be “a disabling, chronic, persistent pain, within the pelvis in women. Relatively common, chronic pelvic pain is associated with co-morbidities such as irritable bowel syndrome, major depressive disorder, or pelvic inflammatory syndrome. One in seven women are affected [4]

LIMB SPASTICITY & MOVEMENT DISORDERS

• Post-Stroke Spasticity (muscle tightness and stiffness after a stroke)
• Cerebral Palsy Spasticity in Adults (muscle spasms causing pain in adults with this condition)

For countless years, Botox has been successfully administered to improve and treat patients’ stiffness (a disorder which has been generated by damage to the nerve/nerves, and as a result, restricts muscle movement). This disorder is referred to as muscle spasticity. Of note, the latter is an issue and key symptom for individuals who have undergone spinal cord injuries or had a stroke/s [2].

Various neurological disorders that limit patients’ physical movement, include

• Dystonia
• Cerebral palsy
• Multiple sclerosis, and
• Paraplegia

Taking The First Step to Achieving Pain Relief Via Botox

Here at the London Pain Clinic, Botox injections have become one of the high demand modalities that we provide for patient’s successful pain management. In some cases, depending on the individual’s specific needs, our Pain Doctors may recommend Botox in conjunction with other proven leading-edge pain relief treatments, injectables and therapies. So if you would like to find out whether Botox treatment could ameliorate your pain condition, simply book an online or in-person appointment with one of our Pain Consultants. They have not only studied and practised as general medical practitioners, they have also spent additional years undertaking specialised training and advanced studies, thereby gaining expertise in the clinical practice of all forms of pain and pain management.

Moreover, here at the London Pain Clinic, we are at the forefront being up to date with the latest research from leading institutes across the world. This ensures that patients are given the best possible protocol of treatments, and as our Pain Doctors regularly monitor patient progress, if needed, any new innovative cutting-edge treatments, pharmaceuticals, injectables and therapies will be added to their Holistic Personalised Treatment Plan. This can be in sharp contrast to having to be given the type of general treatment that is given out by GPs. And of course, despite the positive research on the huge benefit of Botox for pain management, GPs cannot offer this treatment, and patients are not aware that a simple Botox injection which just takes a matter of minutes, can turn their life around and leave them pain free. So contact us to see what we can do to get your life back on track and have you feeling at your best!