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botox It is widely known to remove wrinkles, but it can also Help make phantom limb easier pain in Ukrainian war HandicapResearchers have found.
It is estimated that more than 100,000 soldiers And civilians have lost their limbs since Russia’s full-scale invasion In 2022.
Most amputees experience some degree of stump pain or “phantom limb” pain, where the patient can still feel the actual pain in amputated limb,
But a study led by Northwestern Medicine and Ukrainian physicians, involving 160 amputees treated at two hospitals in western Ukraine between 2022 and 2024, showed that this pain can be significantly reduced using Botox.
“Our results show that botulinum toxin can potentially be a powerful short-term tool for the treatment of post-amputation pain when used with comprehensive medical and surgical care,” said co-author Dr. Roman Smolinets, an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist at the Multidisciplinary Clinical Hospital for Emergency and Intensive Care in Lviv, Ukraine.
“This could be another step toward helping disabled people live with less pain and more dignity. But always as an additional point to comprehensive medical and surgical care, and not as a monotherapy.”
Botox, the brand name of the injectable drug botulinum toxin, is best known for its use in cosmetic procedures to freeze muscles by blocking the nerve signals that cause them to contract.
However, it is also used to reduce chronic pain, migraines, and muscle disorders.
In the study, researchers injected botulinum toxin in a new way by injecting it directly into the painful nerve endings and surrounding soft tissues instead of into the muscle or skin.
Scientists said this helped calm nerve activity and local inflammation. Researchers suggest it may also help relieve other types of nerve pain, such as pain related to shingles, carpal tunnel syndrome, and pain after surgery such as mastectomy.
The study participants were disabled people who were treated at the First Medical Union of Lviv or Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Hospital.
One group of participants were given injections of botulinum toxin around painful nerve endings, called neuromas, in addition to standard medical and physical therapy.
The second group was given medical and surgical treatment, including nerve blocks, physical and psychological therapy, and medication.
Pain levels were assessed on a 10-point scale at the beginning of treatment and after three months, taking into account phantom limb pain and pain in the stump.
The results showed that after one month, the botulinum toxin group experienced an average four-point reduction in phantom limb pain on a 10-point scale, while patients in the comparison group saw only a one-point reduction.
After one month, 69 percent of patients who received botulinum toxin saw improvement in phantom limb pain, while only 43 percent in the other group on conventional treatment saw improvement.
But these benefits only last for three months, with previous research showing that the pain-relieving effects of botulinum toxin typically last for about three months.
“As a retired colonel and the father of an infantry soldier who could be deployed to future conflicts and having suffered a traumatic brain injury at the U.S. Military Academy, this research holds special personal meaning for me,” said senior study author Dr. Steven Cohen, professor of anesthesiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Dr. Cohen and colleagues stressed the need for larger trials to confirm their findings, and aimed to find out whether repeating botulinum toxin injections over time could provide sustained benefits in post-amputation pain.