A new trend that worries and surprises health professionals. For several months now, videos promoting “Calf Tox”, a term that mixes calf, calf in English and botox, abound on TikTok. This practice corresponds to a botox injection in this part of the leg in order to refine it, make it slimmer and more curved.
Such popularity that on the Chinese social network, the hashtag “calf tox” obtains 2.5 million visits. Among these videos, several influencers explain why they resorted to this practice, which consists of a series of several injections in the leg.
“I never liked my calves, they are a little big for my body, I can’t buy certain boots because I can’t close them. It’s been five weeks and I see a difference, look at this calf like it’s wide. “Look at the other one, it’s much bigger tight,” says one of them, with comparison photos to back it up.
“We can imagine having paralysis”
However, this practice is not without risks. Contacted by BFMTV, Christian Marinetti, a cosmetic surgeon, indicates that he categorically refuses to perform it, like many of his colleagues.
“I admit that, as a doctor, I am a little cautious about the consequences that injections in the calf muscles can have. We need the calves to stand up, to stand on their toes, we can imagine ourselves with paralysis,” he says.
As Singapore’s Clifford Clinic, which performs these injections, explains on its website, many side effects are possible. Initially, pain and discomfort may appear, as well as swelling and bruising that can last several days.
muscle weakness
Even more serious, there is a possible weakening of the calf muscles that can affect the ability to play sports. Allergies and infections are also observed, which are rarer.
“Applying Botox to the calf muscles to slim them will temporarily relax the muscles by blocking the nerve endings. Daily exercise may be affected. This could potentially affect your gait and stride, influencing the way you walk, run or jump depending on his anatomy.”, he confirms, in the columns of New York PostAmerican plastic surgeon Andrew Peredo.
While the long-term risks are also unknown, he adds that the injections can also “affect the lower legs and back.”
In general, for any Botox injection, it is best to seek information from professionals. In recent months, fake Botox injectors have multiplied on social networks. Several of them have been the subject of complaints for these illegal injections.
Source: BFM TV
