Botox: Effective Treatment for Stroke Spasticity, Migraines, and More...

How shallow am I? Hmmmmm... Well let's just say my faith in God, in part, comes from his/her creation of Botulinum Toxin A, more commonly referred to as Botox. Now, before you start throwing stones or responding with judgmental e-mails, you should know that the powers of Botox span far beyond that of just wrinkle management these days.

A neighbor of mine has suffered from chronic migraines for most of her young adult life. When acupuncture and pain meds proved ineffective, her doctor proposed Botox treatment as her next option. After one hefty round of injections, not only was she migraine free, but her forehead was suddenly smoother than a pane of glass. The real kicker here: all expenses were covered under my friend's insurance policy. While I somehow managed to hide my jealous rage (hooray for me), after a little more diggin' I came to find out that Botox can not only improve uncontrolled eye twitching, crossed eyes, muscle spasms, and excessive underarm sweating, but also reduce pain and improve muscle tone in stroke victims.

Although not year approved by the FDA for treatment of strokes, studies have found that Botox relives tightness in the hand and arm muscles by blocking "overactive nerve impulses that trigger excessive muscle contractions," a neurologic injury that often occurs after blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted. "Disabling spasticity affects between 17 percent and 30 percent of stroke survivors, and can lead to functional limitations, discomfort and pain." While over fifty percent of the trial patients experienced improvements in the areas that were treated, "'it is possible to develop antibodies that cause resistance to the medicine, so that the body fails to respond to it.'"