Botox is no longer just for celebrities — if you have chronic back and neck pain you may want to consider it as an option. The same injection that works to smooth out wrinkles just may work to relieve persistent, life-inhibiting pain caused by muscle tension.

The FDA originally approved Botox in the late 1980s to treat severe muscle contractions that caused strabismus (crossed eyes). It was then approved to treat painful spasmodic neck conditions such as cervical dystonia. In short, Botox was found to help relax the treated muscles because it functions by temporarily blocking the neurotransmitters that tell muscles to contract.

Interventional Pain Management Specialists use Botox as a very specific treatment for selected patients with chronic localized pain, such as specific types of headaches, facial pain, lower back, middle back and neck pain, which have associated chronic muscle spasms.

Since the drug is administered locally, there aren’t the systemic side effects such as fatigue and sedation that often accompany orally administered muscle-relaxant medications. Botox injections sometimes have to be repeated every three to six months to maintain a therapeutic effect if the problem is not significantly improved or resolved by a physical rehabilitation program.

Botulinum toxin A (Botox) has recently been studied as a treatment option for chronic low-back pain with promising results.  Unfortunately, due to the lack of FDA approval for the treatment of pain, the procedure is not covered by insurance.

At FORMA, Botox is used to decrease severe muscle spasm and pain in order to facilitate the re-education of important movement patterns through a physical rehabilitation treatment program, with the aim of achieving long-lasting results.

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