efficacy of botulinum toxin type a for treating chronic low back pain

conclusions bont-a improves clbp with a low incidence of side effects and can be used as a therapeutic tool in the management of these patients. results after 4 weeks, 76% of patients in the bont-a group reported pain relief compared to 20% in the saline group (p < 0. 005). additionally, greater pain relief was experienced by patients in the bont-a group at 8 weeks (64% vs. 12%; p < 0. 001). by week 8, significant functional improvement (a minimum two-grade improvement between baseline and post-treatment assessments) was demonstrated in a higher number of patients receiving bont-a than in the saline group (68% vs. 12% , respectively; p < 0. 005). patients experienced only minor side effects. objectives the aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of botulinum toxin type a (bont-a; dysport®, ipsen, uk) for treating chronic low back pain (clbp). patients and methods this was a single-blind, randomized clinical trial study. fifty patients with clbp received either bont-a (40 ipsen units per injection) or saline in 5 sites in the paraspinal muscles (n = 25 per group). a visual analogue system (vas) was used to measure pain levels at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks post-injection. disability was assessed using the oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire at baseline and at 8 weeks post-injection. background low back pain is a major cause of disability and can result in substantial morbidity and high healthcare costs. botulinum toxin has been used successfully to alleviate pain for a number of conditions caused by muscle contractions or spasms.