Over 25 million Americans suffer from frequent and incapacitating chronic headaches, also defined as migraines. Amazingly it is estimated that about half of those Americans do not even know that they are suffering from migraines, instead attributing their headaches to sinus and other problems.

So, the question becomes, how do you define a chronic headache sufferer? According to American medical standards, it is an individual who endures up to six headaches per week. Unfortunately, 11% of the American population fits that chronic headache definition. To add to their pain, many have tried a multitude of medications that have either not worked or have caused intolerable side effects such as dizziness, nausea, weight gain and difficulty concentrating.

On the upside, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a breakthrough treatment designed to treat chronic migraine headaches minus the debilitating side effects. The treatment is botulinum toxins or, as it’s more commonly known, Botox. Visit mychronicmigraine.com for additional information.

While Botox has been primarily associated with cosmetic treatments, botulinum toxins have been highly effective in treating a multitude of neurological conditions such as cervical dystonia, blepharospasm and limb spasticity, with a safety and effective track record going back over 20 years. It has also been known that these toxins can be extremely effective in treatment of chronic daily headaches. So it is not surprising that the medical world has welcomed the FDA stamp of approval on this highly effective treatment.

In our medical experience there are few medical treatments that can so drastically change a person’s life as Botox for chronic headaches. Indeed, for many patients it is nothing short of miraculous. Patients respond to Botox treatments, even if they have been headache sufferers for decades, frequently experiencing a 90% reduction in their migraine attacks. And while there are a selection of medical providers offering Botox injections for migraines, Buffalo Spine and Sports is a premier treatment center for migraine R.E.L.I.E.F. (Results, Experience, Licensed physicians, Insurance approved/affordable care, Effective diagnosis, Fast care)

Results

As stated, Botox has been shown to be clinically effective for the treatment of chronic migraine headaches. Studies have shown that patients receiving Botox for headaches have experienced up to 5 headaches less a month as compared to placebos. (Each headache can last several days, resulting in up to a 10-day head ache reduction.) However, in our experience at BSSI, these numbers are very conservative.

At BSSM, when our experienced physicians combine injections of the neck with the head and facial muscles, the reduction of headache severity and frequency has proven to be as high as 90% effective.

Experienced Physicians

BSSM physicians are experts in using Botox for the treatment of chronic migraine headaches, cervical dystonia and spasticity. We are also actively involved in teaching Botox injection techniques to physicians across the country. Of additional significance is that BSSI physicians were one of the first, and still one of very few, medical groups to use ultrasound to help guide our Botox injections. The ability to actually see the specific muscle being injected makes our Botox treatments more accurate and more effective. That expertise consistently translates into improved clinical results for BSSI patients.

Licensed Physicians

BSSM Physicians are residency trained to perform Botox injections.

Insurance Approved

Botox is now accepted by all major insurances, including no-fault, all of which we accept at BSSM. In cases of private pay patients, the cost of Botox injections at BSSM is simply the cost of the medication and a procedure fee based on standard Medicare rates. There is no medication mark up.

Effective Diagnosis

Before BSSM patients undergo any procedures, they are given a thorough physical exam. BSSI physicians specialize in comprehensive physicals, often finding underlying conditions that lead to successful diagnoses and treatments. In the case of migraine sufferers, comprehensive physicals exams have led BSSI physicians to discover that many migraine patients also suffer from a neck pain caused by cervical muscle spasm, or cervical dystonia - a fact that frequently goes undiagnosed. As a result, it has been our BSSM clinical experience that this cervical spasm must be treated, along with the migraine, to achieve the best results.

Additionally, postural problems of chronic headache sufferers are thoroughly explored and a detailed physical therapy prescription is written to provide after-Botox postural correction strategies and treatments.

Fast Access To Care

Patients who are eligible for Botox treatments can be scheduled for a BSSM appointment within weeks. If you are an out of town patient, a thorough clinical examination and a Botox injection can be scheduled on the same day.

CONTACT OUR OFFICE TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH ONE OF OUR DOCTORS AND SEE IF YOU CAN GET R.E.L.I.E.F. FROM YOUR HEADACHES. CALL 716-626-0093 TODAY.

General Botox FYIs

Clinical use of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) is the result of more than 100 years of study into botulinum toxin type A. Millions of patients worldwide have been treated therapeutically with Botox over the course of nearly 20 years.
Botox is currently approved in approximately 80 countries for 21 different indications to help patients worldwide who suffer from such serious or debilitating conditions as cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, strabismus, increased muscle stiffness in elbow, wrist, and finger muscles in adults with upper limb spasticity and symptoms of severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis (excessive underarm sweating) when medicines on the skin (topical) do not work well enough and the preventative treatment of headaches in adult patients with Chronic Migraine (≥15 or more days per month with headaches lasting four hours a day or longer.)
Botox is a purified protein that works by blocking overactive nerve impulses that trigger excessive muscle contractions or glandular activity. The effect is temporary and lasts from approximately one to six months, depending on the individual patient and indication. Botox therapy should only be administered by a trained and qualified physician.
Although chronic migraine occurs in both men and women, women are three times more likely than men to suffer from migraines. Sufferers often experience depression and anxiety as part of the condition. Chronic Migraine also can be influenced by life stress, sleep habits, diet and overuse of acute medications that relieve pain associated with symptoms of headache.
It is estimated that approximately 80 percent of those who meet the definition of chronic migraine have not received an accurate diagnosis and, as a result, may be unaware of their treatment options. This may be due to mischaracterization of chronic migraine as a less severe headache disorder.

Talk to your doctor. Download this Botox Discussion Guide.

Migraines