Botox can be effective treatment for migraines; study says headaches possibly triggered by facial muscles

• Treating migraine sufferers with a mixture of Botox injections and surgery significantly reduces the amount of time they have to take off work due to their headaches, researchers said today.
• Scientists in the United States believe there is a link between the pain caused by migraines and the muscles in the temples and back of the neck.
• About 100 patients taking part in a US study were injected with Botox to find out which muscles in the forehead or back of the head triggered their disabling headaches.
• The offending muscles were then surgically removed in an effort to relieve the pain of a severe migraine.
• The researchers, writing in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, have revealed that the surgery reduced the frequency, intensity and duration of migraines by 92 per cent.
• In addition, the operation was said to have eliminated migraines in 35 per cent of patients.
• The researchers also revealed that prior to surgery the migraine sufferers missed on average 4.4 days of work each month.
• After the operation, the patients missed just 1.2 days per month - a reduction of 73 per cent.
• However, Dr Michael Prager, a cosmetic surgeon at the Harley Street Clinic in London, who runs a monthly Botox clinic held at Beauty Essentials in Dalmahoy, Edinburgh, yesterday said he was sceptical about the surgery.
• "It would not be easy to do this surgery because the muscles on the face are so interwoven and do so many different functions that removing one would be very hard," he said.
• "Nobody knows why Botox helps to relieve migraine pain, but many of my patients say it works.
• "By identifying the trigger areas for migraines and performing targeted surgical procedures, we significantly reduced or eliminated their migraines and the amount of time missed from work."