How To Treat Tourette Syndrome

Botox Injections

Botox injections have been used to treat a variety of movement disorders that cause muscle overactivity. These include disorders that interfere with normal muscle tone, cause muscle spasms, or cause muscle contractures. With Tourette syndrome, some tics can be explained by muscle spasms that cause sustained, repetitive movements or uncontrolled vocalizations. This makes Botox injections an ideal choice for patients who have facial tics like head jerking, winking, and blinking. The treatment might also be effective when patients experience vocalizations due to a spasm of the vocal cords. Botox is a neurotoxin that paralyzes and weakens the muscles. Each injection may have effects lasting between three and six months. Botox has been used for movement disorders since early in the 1980s. It's important to note Botox injections only treat one area of the body, so if a patient experiences multiple full-body tics, this may not be the most effective treatment option available.