By Dr David Main
There is a huge need for help managing musculoskeletal pain in the community. It is estimated that 70% of all pain is related to muscular and ligamentous causes, and treatment options can be frustratingly few: stretching, heat, massage, manipulative therapy, and dry needling for example. Oral medications are generally poor and often result in problems and side effects.
It was the use of an alternative treatment which lead me into the cosmetic field back in 2004 after many years treating migraine and other chronic musculoskeletal pain problems with trigger point therapy (a soft tissue technique to release tension in muscles and fascia) and prolotherapy (an injection-based treatment).
There is a medication that doctors began using in the 1970s to treat the muscles around the eyes to reduce strabismus (i.e. crossed eyes)[2].
Since then, the uses of this medicine have become wide and varied including treating hyperhidrosis, spasticity, blepharospasm (i.e. eye twitch), and migraine[3], with it being added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in 2015 for migraine treatment when performed by a neurologist.
At Skin Resus, we have been treating an increasing number of clients for chronic pain every year.
The most common issues treated were headache, teeth grinding and TMJ pain, followed by neck and upper shoulder pain.
Pain of different causes can be treated, with muscular (myofascial) pain, and neuralgic pain being the most common. The treatment is relatively simple, with a ‘follow-the-pain’ approach taken and results last most commonly between 3 – 5 months. The medicine has an excellent safety profile with no serious side-effects.
As with all medical treatments, a consultation with a doctor is required to find out if this is an appropriate treatment for you.
