New Botox‑like treatment can help runners, cyclists with knee pain

Although injections like Botox, Dysport or Xeomin – all purified forms of botulinum toxin – are most commonly
known for their anti-wrinkle use, scientists recently have discovered that a botox-like injection could also treat
severe knee pain.

Knee pain and sore knee affect one out of seven people who exercise regularly. This is because the joint in the
knee is extremely vulnerable to damage and pain, as it takes the full weight of the body and all the extra force
when running or jumping.

Knee injuries or overuse cause pain in the front and side of the knee joint as well, and the healing process can be
particularly challenging. The most popular methods of knee pain treatment include physiotherapy
(treatments/physio-therapy-in-ec4.html), anti-inflammatory drugs or steroid injections. When all these treatments
fail, patients will most often opt for surgery (news/knee-surgery-recovery.html), according to findings.

Recently, a group of British researchers from Imperial College London and Fortius Clinic discovered that a botoxlike
injection can very effectively ease the pain with people suffering from knee pain. They have carried out an
extensive trial on patients suffering pain in the front or in the side of the knee joint to test the newly recognised
treatment.

In this experiment scientist have given 45 selected subjects – suffering from lateral patellofemoral overload
syndrome (LPOS) – an injection called Dysport. During the trials, this botulinum toxin was injected into the
subjects’ muscle of the hip under ultrasound guidance, after also carrying out individualised physiotherapy
sessions with them. One-eighth of the treated patients required no further medical treatment after the injection.
In the study it is stated, that the Dysport injection would have its results as it is helping the muscles around the
hip relax, so that the gluteal muscles had to be used more. The selected and treated patients followed the
injection with further physiotherapeutic sessions to strengthen their gluteal muscles and address other weak or
tight muscles as appropriate.

The next step will see the involved scientists “analysing muscle activity pre and post Dysport injections, with
further computational analysis to explore the mechanisms at work”, stated one of the study’s authors.
Although this botox-like treatment seems highly effective for people suffering from sore knee and long-term knee
pain, it is important to note that at the moment it is only tested on people who failed to reach any progress with
physiotherapy and other conventional treatments.

Therefore, when suffering from knee pain, we highly advise that you first visit a professional physiotherapist to
consult with.