How Botox® Works to Relieve Migraine Pain
Dr. Nichelle C. Renk is a board-certified and fellowship-trained anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist practicing in Anchorage, AK at the Algone Interventional Pain Clinic. Dr. Renk performs a thorough evaluation of a patient's symptoms, imaging, and physical exam to create an individualized plan for the patient.... more
Chronic migraines leave you struggling to cope with symptoms of pain and sensory sensitivity. as well as juggling your life around the disruption posed by your many headache days. It’s far from easy to manage life with chronic migraines.
If you have 15 or more headache days each month, your condition is medically defined as chronic. You need pain management support and symptom relief that works.
Board-certified interventional pain management specialist Dr. Nichelle Renk treats chronic migraines from her practice at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness in Anchorage, Alaska. Among the approaches Dr. Renk uses to relieve chronic migraines, Botox® injections work well as a long-term preventive treatment option.
How does Botox provide migraine relief? Take a moment as Dr. Renk informs you why Botox offers a good management method for chronic migraines, walking you through the science behind this type of pain relief and prevention.
Botox injections and chronic migraine pain
Botox, which is derived from a small amount of botulinum toxin, has decades of use as a cosmetic anti-aging treatment. When injected, Botox affects neighboring muscles, reducing muscle contractions for a temporary period and lessening the formation of wrinkles.
More recently, we’re learning about the power of Botox to address recurring migraines. This approach shows promise in taking back control over life when chronic migraines prove intrusive and difficult to manage.
Botox also affects the nerves and pain fibers in the injection area. After the Botox enters your nerve endings, the chemicals that transmit pain to your brain are effectively blocked. That means your brain’s pain network doesn’t activate as easily, preventing migraine attacks from taking place.
In addition, Botox injections also prevent the muscle spasms and muscle tension that can contribute to the chronic migraine cycle.
Using Botox treatment for migraine management
Botox is FDA-approved as a treatment for chronic migraines. This approach works best for frequent headache sufferers. If you experience occasional migraines that aren’t chronic, other approaches may give you better results.
For migraine treatment, you receive approximately 31 injections, targeting seven key areas of your head and neck involved in headache prevention. Treatment typically takes about 20 minutes.
Your Botox for migraine treatment needs to be repeated every 12 weeks to maintain your preventive results. Botox begins to lose effectiveness over time, and nerve fibers can start to regrow.
Botox might do enough on its own to reduce your chronic migraines. If not, you should also know that Botox pairs well with other forms of migraine treatment and prevention. After your injection treatment, you don’t risk any drug interactions if you take medication.
You’re not alone with the pain and difficulty of chronic migraines. Reach out to Dr. Renk at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness and learn more about the treatments available to relieve and even prevent your headache pain. With a clear head, you can move forward into a pain-free future.
Schedule your initial consultation appointment online, or call now to book.
