For Jenny Breen, when she says she's into Botox, it's not because she's worried about wrinkles on her face.

It's how she keeps the pain of the arthritis in her knees under control.

"If I had to give up my Botox I don't think I could live. My quality of life would go right down," she told CTV News.

The popular cosmetic treatment may now also be able to relieve severe pain in patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee, suggests a new study.

New interim data shows that injections of Botulinum Toxin Type A resulted in patients showing a significant reduction in severe pain and an increase in functionality.

"It works very well. We have patients where the pain comes down for three months, or it could be up to six months," says Dr. Gordon Ko.

Researchers studied 37 patients using the Botox injection versus a saline placebo.

At the one month mark, two placebo patients dropped out because of lack of benefit.

Of the 18 patients classified in the severe pain group, the nine that were given the actual Botox injection showed a "significant decrease in pain and improvement in physical function," said a press release of the study's finding.

Although, Botox can be expensive: one vial costs about $400, and it's not covered by most healthcare programs.

But the treatment can hopefully become a viable option for those who do not qualify for joint reconstruction because of age or frailty, said Maren L. Mahowald, Rheumatology Section Chief at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and principal investigator in the study.

"Local joint treatment with injection could replace oral medications that carry the risk of systemic side effects, and may negate or delay the need for joint surgery," said Mahowald in the press release.

Ko has been successfully testing out Botox on patients for whom no other treatment has worked. It's injected into the gap between the joint, using a special ultrasound to guide the needle.

Doctors say that "because it's injected directly into the arthritic joint, it doesn't cause the stomach bleeding, high blood pressure and other side effects triggered by my arthritis pain medication," reported CTV's Avis Favaro.

Researchers still have to carry out the study through the three and six month marks, but patients like Jenny Breen are already convinced of its effectiveness.

"I know, for me personally, it changed my life and made a big difference," she said.

With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro and medical producer Elizabeth St. Philip