Botox Shows Promise Against Persistent Neck, Shoulder Pain

Small study found it helped patients for whom typical treatments had failed

Botox injections, long used to smooth away wrinkles, might also soothe chronic neck and shoulder muscle pain, new research suggests.

This type of persistent pain “is a common disorder that potentially may cause functional impairment in our patients,” explained one expert not connected to the study, Dr. Robert Duarte. “In addition, neck pain may provoke headaches,” said Duarte, who directs the Pain Center at the Cushing Neuroscience Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, NY.

In the study, 118 patients with pain lasting more than two months who had already tried other pain medications were given injections of either botox (botulinum toxin type A) or a placebo.   Those who received botox had a much greater reduction in pain scores than those who received the placebo, according to a team from the University of California, Los Angeles.

The patients who received the botox injections also had a significant reduction in the number of headaches per week, and their headaches were less severe.

Read the full article at http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/10/13/botox-shows-promise-against-persistent-neck-shoulder-pain

Source:  October 13, 2012 for HealthDay News at http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/10/13/botox-shows-promise-against-persistent-neck-shoulder-pain