Botox

Botox® might be best known as an aesthetic treatment, but it also has invaluable medical uses. Ara Chitchyan, MD, and his team at American Rehabilitation Associates in Peachtree City, Georgia, use Botox to reduce spasticity symptoms in people with conditions ranging from stroke and multiple sclerosis to spinal cord injury (SCI) and cerebral palsy. Call American Rehabilitation Associates today to discover how you could benefit from Botox injections or request an appointment via the online booking form.

What is Botox?

Botox is widely known for its use in aesthetics, where people have injections that reduce the severity of facial lines and wrinkles. However, Botox’s first use was as a medical treatment for various nerve and muscle-related disorders. Doctors now use Botox to help prevent chronic migraine and treat conditions such as:

• Strabismus (crossed eyes)
• Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating)
• Cervical dystonia (neck muscle spasms)
• Overactive bladder
• Urinary incontinence caused by a nerve disorder
• Spasticity

Spasticity occurs when something damages or interferes with the nerve impulses controlling muscle movement. This results in involuntary muscle contraction, stiffening, and spasms. About 1.8 million people in the United States live with the effects of spasticity, which include stiff muscles, bent elbows, curled toes, clenched fists, or rigid ankles. 

What causes spasticity?

Many disorders could cause spasticity. Common ones include:

Stroke

A stroke happens when something cuts off the blood supply to your brain. This damages small areas, causing movement problems and sometimes partial paralysis. Spasticity can develop weeks or months after a stroke.

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

MS develops when the myelin sheaths covering the nerve cell fibers in your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) gradually wear away. This results in movement limitations and spasticity.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)  

Spasticity can develop shortly after a TBI if the injury damages areas of your brain controlling movement.

Spinal cord injury (SCI)

SCIs damage the nerve cells controlling muscle activity, so they can’t receive signals from your brain. Spasticity is a common problem following spinal cord trauma.

Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy symptoms develop in childhood, affecting movement and limb coordination. It’s caused by developmental problems in the part of your brain controlling muscle movement.

How does Botox help with spasticity?

Botox affects the chemical communication between nerves and muscles. When you have spasticity, the nerves are overactive, making your muscles tighten and spasm. Botox injections stop the affected nerves from sending messages to the muscles, telling them to tighten. As a result, your muscles relax, and spasticity reduces.

The American Rehabilitation Associates team performs Botox injections for spasticity in the office during a simple procedure. The effects can last for several months, after which you’ll need further injections to maintain your results.

Call American Rehabilitation Associates today or schedule a consultation online to see how you could benefit from the team’s expertise in using Botox to treat spasticity.