piriformis syndrome and botox injections

Botox is the trade name for a version of the Neuro-toxin Botulism. Interestingly enough, the Botulinum Toxin is arguably the single most toxic substance known to man.  It causes paralysis by blocking the neurotransmitter acytelcholine, and takes only slightly more than one one billionth of a gram per kilogram of body weight to kill a person via total paralysis. 

Because it causes paralysis, local injections of diluted amounts of Botulinum Toxin are used medically for several purposes.  One of these is to “relax” the layer of muscle / fascia underneath the skin in order to temporarily smooth out wrinkles.  Another is to act as a relaxer for chronic conditions such as Torticollis (a bent or tipped neck), crossed eyes, over-active bladders, and even over-sweaty armpits, etc.  As you may have guessed, injecting such a toxic substance into your body can have some potentially serious side effects.  Some of these include things like……

• Trouble breathing, talking, or swallowing
• Hoarseness
• Drooping eyelids (Because Boxtox is given for facial wrinkles — particularly wrinkles around the eyes, many of the side effects have to do with the eyes, face, or head.)
• Abnormal or severe muscle weakness (particularly in areas that were not injected)
• Loss of bladder control or UTI’s
• Visual disturbances
• A wide array of eye problems (itching, crusting, etc)
• Skin rashes and / or itching
• Abnormal heartbeat (too fast, too slow, not in time)
• Chest pain and other heart attack like symptom
• Generally feeling bad.
• Muscle weakness at or near the injection site

• Bruising, bleeding, pain, redness, or swelling at or near the injection site
• Headache, stiff muscles, neck pain, back pain
• Fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, flu-like symptoms
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness, feeling tired or lethargic
• Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, poor appetite
• Dry mouth / dry eyes
• Ringing in the ears
• Increased sweating in areas other than the armpits
• Increased sensitivity to light
• Eyelid swelling or bruising
• Anxiety
• Anaphylaxis
• Inflections

One of the commonly tried treatments for hardcore PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME is Botox Injections. Does this work?   While I know that there are people out there who have successfully used Botox for their Piriformis Syndrome, I have never met one for whom it worked for longer than a very short time.  For more information about a different method, visit the link above.