Treating migraines and tension headaches with anti-wrinkle injections

Get treatment for your pain in our Brisbane dental practice

It’s been two years since Dr Nick Yee has been fully qualified to provide dermal filler treatment and anti-wrinkle injections here at Wickham Terrace Dental. In that time, he’s helped reduce wrinkles and give a rejuvenated appearance for dozens of our patients. 

And one less obvious – but no less valuable – use for anti-wrinkle injections is the way Dr Nick uses them to treat headaches and migraines.

For headache sufferers it’s a really valuable application for this technology, and one that our own front desk superstar Nina has recently used to treat her own severe migraines. We sat down with Nina to hear the story of her treatment.

Why use anti-wrinkle treatment for migraines?

Migraines and tension headaches can sometimes be caused by overusing the muscles in your forehead, or clenching your jaw.

Because anti-wrinkle injections can relax both these muscle areas, they have a pronounced effect on relieving the symptoms of headache and migraine. It’s thought they may also help block pain signals to the brain.

When Wickham Terrace Dental first began offering anti-wrinkle injections, our Front Office Coordinator Nina was quick to try the treatment as an answer to her frequent painful headaches.

“I had been suffering from chronic headaches and migraines for about 15 years,” Nina said. “They were so severe I was sometimes bed-ridden for more than 3 days at a time with crippling pain and sensitivity to light.”

“When Nick started offering the injections here at the practice I thought, ‘Why not give it a try?’ – so I did!”

How Nina’s migraines were alleviated by anti-wrinkle injections

Along with using a night splint and undergoing physiotherapy, anti-wrinkle injections have reduced Nina’s symptoms to a bare minimum.

In fact this combination of treatments is often the best way forward – using a mix of different methods to relax the muscles in the face and jaw and relieve headache symptoms.

“I've gone from about 2-3 migraines a month to about 3-4 a year,” Nina said. “It has been life changing for me.”

Nina has injections about every 3 months, which works well with her physiotherapy sessions. “I see the physio maybe 3 times a year to have my jaw adjusted and relaxed,” she said. “Sometimes I coordinate the physio and injections to get the best results.” 

“I also wear orthodontic retainers at night, or a night splint to protect my teeth,” Nina said. “I have been wearing the splint for more than 10 years, which helped me massively.” 

And are the anti-wrinkle injections painful? Not at all, says Nina. “Honestly I am terrified of needles, but this is just a little prick – almost like when you pluck an eyebrow,” she said. “Also it’s all of a 45 second appointment, so there’s really not much to worry about!”

Discover whether anti-wrinkle treatment could help you

If you suffer from migraines or tension headaches, anti-wrinkle injections could be one way to help reduce your symptoms. To find out whether they’re right for you, get in touch with the Wickham Terrace Dental team here or call us on 07 3831 3031.