Botox is known for its ability to smooth wrinkles when injected into the face, but Johns Hopkins researchers may have found another use that goes beyond the cosmetic.
The researchers found that patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), a painful and debilitating nerve compression disorder, reported a significant reduction in short-term pain after receiving a single, low-dose injection of Botox in a neck muscle.
Researchers say the study suggests that Botox could be a noninvasive alternative to rib-removal surgery—the syndrome’s treatment of last resort.
“There haven’t been many alternatives to the use of surgery to treat this syndrome,” says Paul J. Christo, M.D., M.B.A., an assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the study’s lead author. “Botox seems to be an effective treatment that avoids surgery’s obvious drawbacks, such as its invasive nature and long recovery time.”
Since the effect from Botox lasts only a few months, repeated injections would be necessary to maintain the results, and repeated treatments may lead to development of antibodies to the compound in some patients. That would mean the toxin would no longer block pain, and therefore not all patients are candidates for Botox, says Christo.
As potential therapeutic uses grow, Botox’s use as a cosmetic procedure remains popular. According to 2009 statistics from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery it was the number one less-invasive cosmetic procedure performed last year in the United States and is one of the procedures Dr. Carney performs in his Twin Cities locations.
Read the full release, Botox Eases Nerve Pain in Certain Patients, at the Johns Hopkins Medicine website. You can also read some of Dr. Carney’s answers to questions about Botox, including the use of Botox for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) at Real Self.
