Millions of Americans suffer from back pain, but could Botox be the answer. Now the same stuff that is used to get rid of wrinkles is being used at Scripps La Jolla to give patients relief from chronic back pain.

Hank Coleman loves to surf, but chronic back pain is keeping him out of the water.

"I have to take a pill to get up, I have to take a pill at mid-day, and a pill to go to bed," he said.

In addition to medication and other treatments, Coleman says he's tried back surgery, physical therapy and exercise.

Today, he's trying Botox, the same drug used to get rid of wrinkles. Dr. Joseph Shurman is chairman of pain management at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, and says Coleman isn't alone when it comes to back pain.

"It's probably the number one type of patient we see in our pain clinic and in other pain clinics is back pain," Shurman said.

When injected into muscles in Coleman's back, the Botox can stop or reduce muscle spasm.

"The concept is to have a muscle contraction, you have this chemical that's released from one nerve that goes to a muscle called acetylcholine," Coleman explained. "Botox interferes with that, therefore you get relaxation."

Dr. Shurman says the use of Botox to treat back pain is an off-label use of the drug, which means that it has not been approved by the FDA. That means that some insurance companies might not cover it. He says Botox can take a week or two to work, and Coleman will need to come back about every three months for more injections.

"The biggest problem is spasm in one particular area and we've done local injections with local anesthetics, and he gets relief, and the concept is could we get him more prolonged relief with the Botox," Shurman said.

"It would be incredible if it would just stop," Hank said.

We spoke with Hank and he said he had an immediate relief of pain, although his pain isn't completely gone.

Dr. Shurman says the Botox can take a few weeks to fully work.

He says if you suffer from chronic back pain, you should talk to a doctor about options and possible side effects of using Botox.