How Does Botox Help Reduce and Calm Headaches?

Migraine is a recurrent headache that causes pain, usually on one side of the head or face, accompanied by dizziness, nausea, and light or sound sensitivity. The condition is very common and affects up to 3 million Americans each year. While traditional treatment for migraine focuses on behavioral modification, avoidance of triggers, and pain medications to get pain relief, Botox injections are a non-surgical procedure that has proven effective in treating migraines.

Botox Treatment for Migraine Treatment

In 2010, Botox, an injectable drug made from Clostridium botulinum, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat migraines in adults that occur more than half of the days of a month. 

Botox injection sites for migraine

Usually, a session of chronic migraine treatment involves 31 injections with five units per injection. The major injection sites include:

• the upper bridge above the nose
• forehead
• temples
• back of the head
• neck
• upper back

How Do Botulinum Toxin Injectables Help Treat Migraines?

At Signature Smiles and Designing Smiles, we use Botox treatment to help our patients have relief from chronic migraines. 

Botox injection can help ease the following symptoms of migraine attacks:

• nausea and dizziness
• vomiting
• sensitivity to lights, sounds, and smells

When someone gets a migraine, our body releases neurotransmitters, a substance associated with pain. When up to 39 Botox injections are administered to multiple sites around the head and neck, they interfere with these pain-associated neurotransmitters and interrupt the path of pain transmission between the brain and spinal cord nerves, thus relieving pain.

As per various researches, Botox injections are capable of reducing the severity of migraine symptoms and their frequency of occurrence. 

Effectiveness of Botox

It may take up to two weeks or more to have relief from the migraine symptoms after receiving Botox injections. Sometimes, patients may need more than one set of Botox injections to experience any relief. 

A 2018 study showed that when used to treat chronic migraine, Botox treatment was proven effective in significantly reducing its symptoms and the days of occurrence almost up to three tears. 

A 2019 review of studies also indicated that Botox treatment could effectively treat or prevent chronic migraine after three months of Botox therapy.

What To Expect From Getting Botox?

Botox treatments for chronic migraines are safely administered once every three months. Each session of Botox injections lasts between 10 to 15 minutes. Multiple doses of Botox are injected into the specific targets on the head and shoulders during the treatment.

Botox For TMJ 

Botox injections are also proven to be effective in easing symptoms of TMJ disorders when administered into the jaw muscles, forehead, or temple. These injections work by limiting the functions of jaw muscles, thus resulting in pain relief and decreased TMJ symptoms. However, Botox does not treat the TMJ disorder but relieves its symptoms. So, once the results of the injection wear off after a few months, the patient will need more injections to get continuous relief. 

To learn more about Botox injection for migraines, call us or visit our office from your nearest location.