Cosmetic surgeons warn of the dangers of botox injections in calves

These health professionals assert that these injections can cause muscle weakness or even paralysis.

A new trend that worries and surprises health professionals. For several months, videos promoting “Calf Talks”, the word mix the calf, calf in English, and botox, abound on TikTok. This procedure corresponds to injecting botox into this part of the leg to make it slimmer and curvier.

Such is the popularity that on Chinese social networks, the hashtag “Calf Talks” receives 2.5 million views. In this video, several influencers explain why they resorted to this practice, which involves a series of injections in the legs.

“I’ve never liked my calves, they’re a bit big for my body, I can’t buy the exact boots because I can’t zip them up. It’s been five weeks and I can see the difference, look at these calves as wide as they are. , Look at the other one, it’s too narrow,” says one of them, with a comparison photo to back it up.

“We can imagine being paralyzed”

However, this practice is not without risks. Contacted by BFMTV, Christian Marinetti, a cosmetic surgeon, suggests that he flatly refuses to do that, as do many of his colleagues.

“I admit that as a doctor, I am a little cautious about the results of injections into the calf muscles. We need the calf to stand, to stand on tiptoe, we can imagine paralysis,” he says.

As the Singaporean Clifford Clinic, which administers these injections, explains on its website, many side effects are in fact possible. At first, there may be pain and discomfort, as well as swelling and bruising that lasts for several days.

Muscle weakness

Even more serious, the calf muscles are likely to weaken which can affect a person’s ability to play sports. Allergies and infections, which are rare, are also reported.

“Applying Botox to thin your calf muscles will temporarily relax the muscles by blocking the nerve endings. Daily exercise can be affected. This can influence the way you walk, run or jump, depending on your anatomy.”, confirms. , in columns of New York PostAmerican plastic surgeon Andrew Paredo.

While the long-term risks are also not known, he adds that the injections “may also affect your lower legs and back.”

Generally speaking, for any Botox injection, you should seek professional advice. In recent months, fake Botox injectors have multiplied on social networks. Several of them have been targeted by complaints of these illegal injections.

most read