Is botulinum toxin effective?

Author: SCIRE Community Team | Reviewer: Patricia Mills | Published: 10 November 2017 | Updated: ~

Botulinum toxin has been studied thoroughly as a treatment for spasticity in other conditions like stroke and brain injury. There is strong evidence to support that it is effective for treating spasticity in these conditions. Fewer studies have looked at how effective botulinum toxin injections are after SCI.

There is moderate evidence that botulinum toxin injections can be used to improve muscle spasticity in the injected muscle after SCI. It may also help to improve problems related to spasticity, such as pain, sleep disturbances, and walking problems.

There is strong evidence that botulinum toxin injections are an effective treatment option for reducing the symptoms of overactive (reflex) bladder problems after SCI. This includes both:

Injections into the bladder muscle to prevent leaking or

incontinence

Injections into the sphincter muscles to improve bladder emptying

The components of the urinary system.7

Some of the studies that have looked at treating bladder problems after SCI have also found that some participants also had fewer episodes of autonomic dysreflexia after treatment. This was thought to be because bladder problems triggered autonomic dysreflexia in these individuals. However, there is not enough evidence to use botulinum toxin as a direct treatment for preventing autonomic dysreflexia at this time.

See our article on Autonomic Dysreflexia for more information!