About 6 years ago, I had a most unsettling medical condition that led to an unconventional solution with a Botox injection. (Not Dysport.)
I was a long-distance runner training for a marathon. About one month before the big race, I had accumulated a repetitive use injury in of all my places by butt and hips. A mysterious muscle called the piriformis was in constant aching agony and, worse, was somehow referring pain to my sciatic nerve. Essentially, my leg felt like it was on fire from the inside out all the way from by butt to my toes.
I consulted several doctors who made several different recommendations, including rest, icing, stretching, and giving up running for good. Another doctor gave me a shot of cortisone in my hip which led to little pain relief and additional embarrassment for all the nurses and other medspa staff crowding in for a look.
Finally, came my savior, who I will call Wholesale Botox Bob.
You see, Botox Bob was a cutting-edge pain specialist. Botox Bob had recently come from a medical conference in which they proposed that Botox be used to help relax muscles that were in tetanus or pain from overuse injuries. Botox Bob saw me as the perfect guinea pig. So, after a bit of cajoling, Botox Bob convinced me to receive botox in my left gluteus maximus.
The injection would be delivered by the longest needle I had ever seen. I thought it would come out the front! The injection was performed by an interventional radiologist using CT guidance. I watched as they advanced the needle to my painful spot and delivered botox in combination with a local anesthetic. Within a couple of days, I was my pain free as my piriformis eased. I was able to run the marathon thanks to Botox Bob and his magic needle.
And, so I’m told, my butt has nary a wrinkle in it.
