ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2013
Botulinum toxin for the treatment of myofascial pain syndromes involving the neck and back: a review from a clinical perspective.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness of intra-oral botulinum toxin injection in comparison to the extra-oral approach on pain and quality of life in patients with myofascial pain: a randomized clinical trial.Clinical oral investigations · 2024Trial
- Effect of high-intensity laser therapy in the management of myofascial pain syndrome of the trapezius: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.Lasers in medical science · 2015Trial
- Botulinum toxin type a injections for cervical and shoulder girdle myofascial pain using an enriched protocol design.Anesthesia and analgesia · 2014Trial
- A Novel Patient-Specific Landmark-Guided Approach for Intramuscular Botulinum Neurotoxin Injections Into the Rotator Cuff: A Cadaveric Study.Clinical anatomy (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Article
- Benefits, Safety, and Adjunct Modality Prevalences of Long-Term Botulinum Toxin Injections for Cervical Dystonia and Myofascial Neck Pain: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of pain research · 2020Article
- Safety and Efficacy of PrabotulinumtoxinA (NabotaToxins · 2018Article
- Impact of Botox-A SNAP-25 protein expression and the mechanism of inhibitory neurotransmitter imbalance in chronic sciatic nerve pain rat model.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction. Botulinum toxin inhibits acetylcholine (ACh) release and probably blocks some nociceptive neurotransmitters. It has been suggested that the development of myofascial trigger points (MTrP) is related to an excess release of ACh to increase the number of sensitized nociceptors. Although the use of botulinum toxin to treat myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) has been investigated in many clinical trials, the results are contradictory. The objective of this paper is to identify sources of variability that could explain these differences in the results. Material and Methods. We performed a content analysis of the clinical trials and systematic reviews of MPS. Results and Discussion. Sources of differences in studies were found in the diagnostic and selection criteria, the muscles injected, the injection technique, the number of trigger points injected, the dosage of botulinum toxin used, treatments for control group, outcome measures, and duration of followup. The contradictory results regarding the efficacy of botulinum toxin A in MPS associated with neck and back pain do not allow this treatment to be recommended or rejected. There is evidence that botulinum toxin could be useful in specific myofascial regions such as piriformis syndrome. It could also be useful in patients with refractory MPS that has not responded to other myofascial injection therapies.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.