Botox® for Migraines Dallas
Botox® for Migraines in Dallas, Texas
Therapeutic Botox® injections have a different goal than cosmetic Botox®. Instead of targeting your crow’s feet, frown lines, and other wrinkles, these therapeutic injections can directly address medical conditions such as chronic migraines, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), severe muscle spasms, Bruxism (grinding of the teeth) and TMJ (overactive masseter muscle).
Book your consultation with Dr. DeGironemo and start feeling the pain relief that comes with Medical Botox® injections!
Conditions that Botox® can help with
Chronic Migraines
What are Chronic Migraines?
Chronic migraines are defined as having 15 or more headache filled days per month (both migraines and other headaches count), with 8 or more of those 15 days involving migraines that end up lasting 4 or more hours.
How does Botox® for Migraines work?
When Botox® is used to treat chronic migraines, it’s injected in the neck and head muscles. It blocks the chemicals in your body that send pain signals from your brain, stopping those pain signals before they get to the nerve endings in your head and neck area. Each injection treatment can last as long as four months, and most patients who use Botox® for chronic migraines see a dramatic improvement in severity and frequency of their migraines.
Hyperhidrosis (Excessive Sweating)
Botox® is commonly injected underneath the skin of the sweaty areas of your body such as your armpits, hands, feet, or face; Botox® blocks the signals that the brain sends to all of your sweat glands.
Our nervous system that controls our involuntarily body functions, such as breathing and digestion, also signals our sweat glands to produce sweat in response to certain stimuli such as an elevated temperature. Botox, a natural, purified protein has the ability to block this signal that our body sends, preventing the activation of our sweat glands. You will continue to sweat in other areas that are not injected. Results can generally last anywhere from 6-9 months.
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD and TMJ)
This is when you have jaw tension and pain that can be eased by receiving injections into the muscles surrounding the temporomandibular joint (where the skull and jaw connect). This eases any tension by relaxing the joint and muscles.
Located on both sides of the head where the jawbone meets the skull, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is used during talking, eating, and other everyday activities. If this joint becomes to overworked, you could start to suffer severe tension headaches, as well as a sharp pain in the jaw. BOTOX® can help to relieve any jaw tension by weakening the muscles that engage in the unconscious movement of your jaw. This will help to reduce headaches and diminish pain.
Muscle Spasms and Tightening
Botox® can be injected into your muscles to treat cervical dystonia which is a condition that causes the muscles in your neck to tighten or spasm without your control. Botox® also helps treat upper limb spasticity which is when the muscles in your body become stiff or tight. Botox® injections will block certain chemical signals from your nerves, mostly the signals that cause your muscles to contract.
The benefits of Botox® injections include:
- Significant improvement in your gait pattern
- Improvement in your range of motion.
- Decreased pain in any stiff muscles.
- Reduction of spasticity and greater ease in stretching.
- Helps delay any surgical plans.
Bruxism or Grinding of The Teeth
By injecting small doses of Botox® directly into the large massester muscle that moves the jaw, that muscle is weakened enough to stop the involuntary movements that make you unconsciously grind your teeth and clench your jaw.
This treatment significantly relaxes that muscle and reduces the damage on your teeth due to grinding.
The Botox® injections will help reduce the amount of clenching that you do, and it will also help with any accompanying tension and headaches that you may be experiencing. The injections usually start to work in about 2 to 4 weeks after the injection and the effects could last up to 3 to 6 months.
Blepharospasm
Botox is created from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum toxin and is a medication that’s commonly used in both medical and cosmetic purposes. Medically, the Botox is purified of its bacterial substances and creates a neurotoxin administered in small doses into affected areas. The Botox injection can weaken the contractions and blocks the nerve signals sent to and from the muscles surrounding the eye. When administered, the Botox targets the nerves and muscles through multiple injection sites in the eye and eyebrow, and for patients with blepharospasm, it can reduce its symptoms, including:
- Blinking and eye irritation
- Fatigue and emotional tension
- Light sensitivity
- Facial spasms
- Eye dilation
- Dry eyes
- Forceful opening of the jaw
- Retraction of lips
- Protrusion of tongue
What to expect: Appointment and Results!
What to Expect
Just before the Botox® injection is administered, you may be given some form of topical anesthetic. Botox® can be injected either into your skin or into your muscles. The location of the injection will depend on why you are wanting to get the injections in the first place. It’s very common to receive more than one injection, especially if you are receiving treatment on a larger part of your body.
Once the procedure is done, you can go right back into your normal routine. You should avoid rubbing or touching the area where the injection was administered for at least 24 hours.
The effectiveness of a Botox® treatment can vary. Typically, the effects can last up to 6 months. A single Botox® injection treatment is not going to last you for the rest of your life. If you are wanting to continue to benefit from it, you will have to receive additional injections over time.
