Botox is a well-known treatment for wrinkles and facial lines caused by muscle movement. Neuromodulators such as Botox, Xeomin or Dysport have become some of the most popular non-surgical cosmetic treatments available in Toronto today. Botox is also becoming well-known as a treatment option for excessive sweating of the armpits, feet, and hands. Many people have heard of Botox for cosmetic, facial injection but may not be aware of its long-standing reputation as a safe medical treatment for chronic migraines, sweating, muscle contractures, eyelid twitches and more. New medical studies are consistently revealing new, exciting ways that Botox can provide treatment or relief for a variety of medical conditions.
Urinary incontinence can stem from a variety of issues. One such problem is called, “overactive bladder.” Normally, the bladder wall muscles are at rest when the bladder is not full and can comfortably store urine.
The urinary sphincter muscles naturally contract to prevent urine outflow and will relax when receiving the appropriate message from the brain. When there is an issue with the brain’s communication to bladder muscle control, the bladder may become overactive and contract involuntarily. Pressure increases even when the bladder is not full. This means that the bladder cannot hold as much urine – capacity is reduced, the urge to urinate may be frequent and come without warning, and leakage may occur.
Dr. Cindy L. Amundsen from Duke University School of Medicine and colleagues studied 381 women who suffered frequent, daily bladder incontinence and were not benefiting from treatments such as medication, changes to diet or pelvic floor muscle exercises. The women in the study received either Botox injections carefully administered to specific, bladder muscles, or a small implant called InterStim, which is also used to treat urinary incontinence. Both groups of women reported decreased bladder incontinence episodes and benefits from their treatment but overall, Botox for bladder problems was reported to work slightly better and patients in that group reported higher satisfaction on a daily basis. 364 of these same women were followed for six months after the initial, short trial and were asked to keep track of any incontinence and report episodes. Over the longer term test period, the patients who received Botox for bladder incontinence reported decreased episodes by 3.9 while the patients who received the implant during the study reported incontinence episodes decreased by 3.3. The rate of bladder infections was reported slightly higher for the Botox users, however.
BLADDER INCONTINENCE TREATMENT
Bladder incontinence treatment with Botox is approved for use in the U.S. for urinary control issues which affect between 3% and 17% percent of women over age 45 and 3% to 11% of men. Botox injection is indicated for the treatment of urinary incontinence in men and women, related to detrusor muscle overactivity associated with a neurologic condition, leading to urinary incontinence.According to Dr. Amundsen’s study published in the journal JAMA, injection of botulinum toxin type A, (most commonly recognized as Botox), can bring relief to people who suffer from this type of incontinence.
