Pain, Central Sensitization and Psychoemotional State in Patients With Chronic Masticatory Muscle Pain

Launched by WROCLAW MEDICAL UNIVERSITY · Dec 22, 2022

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study is an observational cohort run by Wroclaw Medical University in Poland. It is looking at adults with chronic jaw muscle pain (masticatory muscle pain) and comparing them with similar adults who do not have this pain. Researchers want to understand how this pain relates to blood chemicals (like serotonin and dopamine and other inflammatory markers), two specific gene variants, and how people’s nervous system might amplify pain (central sensitization). They will measure pain levels, mood and stress, life satisfaction, coping, and personality, using questionnaires, and they will also test jaw muscle pain sensitivity with a small pressure test.

If you are eligible, about 102 adults aged 18–80 will be invited to participate (51 with pain for at least 3 months and 51 without jaw pain in the past 6 months). Participants will have a clinical dental exam to diagnose jaw-muscle problems, provide a blood sample for genetic and biomarker testing, and complete several questionnaires about mood, anxiety, stress, and overall well-being. The study will compare the two groups to see how pain, biology, and psychology are connected. Enrollment started in 2023, with results not yet available and completion expected around 2025.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria for study group:
• • Masticatory muscle pain for at least 3 months, based on DC/TMD, at least 18 y.o
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • severe neurological or psychiatric diseases, use of drugs that may affect the neuromuscular system, alcohol or drug addiction, cancer or pregnancy, previous head surgery
• Inclusion criteria for control group:
• • no pain in masticatory muscles, age of at least 18 y.o Exclusion criteria the same as for study group