“It is not unusual for a person who suffers from jaw pain and headaches due to jaw joint disorder to also have fibromyalgia.” said Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Specialist Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgeon, stated that patients with jaw joint disorder and fibromyalgia also experience problems in the muscles related to the shoulders, neck, face, head and back.
Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Specialist Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem from Üsküdar Dental Hospital made explanations about the relationship between jaw joint diseases and fibromyalgia.
More than 10 million patients experience jaw pain every year
Stating that the joints that connect our skull to the jaw are temporomandibular joints, that is, jaw joints, Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Specialist Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem said, “Temporomandibular joint disorder is an umbrella term that covers a group of conditions that cause pain and dysfunction in the jaw joint and muscles. Typical symptoms include tenderness, tightness or pain around the jaw; problems with chewing and opening the mouth wide; and headaches and earaches. Jaw joint disorders can make ordinary activities such as yawning, eating or talking difficult and uncomfortable.”
Stating that statistics show that more than 10 million patients suffer from jaw pain every year, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem pointed out that women are more prone to this medical condition compared to men.
“There is a significant positive correlation between jaw joint diseases and fibromyalgia”
Noting that fibromyalgia, a medical condition that affects the muscles and bones of the person, can cause common musculoskeletal pain as well as mood problems and fatigue in the patient, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem said, “Fibromyalgia affects the processing of the pain signal in the brain, causing increased pain. Due to the wide variety of symptoms, the disease is often misdiagnosed. Most fibromyalgia patients are women, especially those with mood disorders, anxiety, arthritis or those who have been subjected to physical abuse in the past, and individuals with a family history of fibromyalgia are more likely to develop it.”
Stating that there is a significant positive correlation between jaw joint diseases and fibromyalgia, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem said, “Patients with fibromyalgia often have a history of irritable bowel syndrome or premenstrual syndrome, as well as headache, facial pain, jaw fatigue, difficulty opening the mouth and chewing. This disease, in which the diagnosis of myofascial pain is more common, is also frequently encountered in individuals with fibromyalgia.”
“Many patients with fibromyalgia have TMD symptoms”
“It is not unusual for a person who suffers from jaw pain and headaches due to jaw joint disorder to also have fibromyalgia.” said Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem emphasized that patients may find themselves dealing with both, which can make it difficult to manage their quality of life and pain.
Stating that patients with jaw joint disorder and fibromyalgia also experience problems in the muscles connected to the shoulders, neck, face, head and back, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem continued as follows:
“Jaw joint disorder is a local disorder, fibromyalgia is a generalized disease and there is less evidence of distress in people with Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome (TMD). TMD is a separate disease from fibromyalgia, but many patients with fibromyalgia have TMD symptoms. According to research leadership at the National Institutes of Health, fibromyalgia patients often have high rates of TMD, including both TMD joint disc disorders and myofascial pain in the jaw, head and neck muscles.
For example, trigger points in the masseter muscles cause jaw pain, temporal trigger points cause temple pain, and sternocleidomastoid trigger points cause neck and ear pain. TMD can cause these symptoms in fibromyalgia patients.”
People with jaw joint disorder and fibromyalgia have increased sensitivity to pain
Noting that fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread pain and stiffness in muscles and joints, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem said, “In most cases, this is accompanied by tender points, headaches, muscle spasms and tingling sensations in the body. People with fibromyalgia often report fatigue, sleep difficulties, mood disorders and memory problems.”
Stating that various studies have found that people with jaw joint disorder and fibromyalgia have increased sensitivity to pain compared to healthy people, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem said, “This is also confirmed by brain imaging technology. People with chronic pain show more activity in pain-related areas of the brain. In addition, scientists have identified specific genes linked to chronic pain conditions, including a gene pair that may explain why women are more likely to suffer from chronic pain than men.”
“Fibromyalgia patients often struggle for years without a clear diagnosis”
Underlining that realizing what myofascial pain is opens the door to the future of successful pain management, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem said, “By diagnosing chronic pain at the onset of the disease, with or without dysfunctional TMD pain, it is easier to identify a possible relationship between widespread pain and the onset of dysfunctional TMD.”
Pointing out that patients are usually treated for painful Temporomandibular disorder without considering fibromyalgia, Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hacer Fulya Üçem concluded her words as follows:
“Fibromyalgia patients who experience local pain in the temples caused by the temporomandibular system often struggle with it for years without a clear diagnosis. It may start in other parts of the body and then follow a common pattern involving the temporomandibular region.
Pain is often described as ‘chronic dull aching pain’ and is central to the diagnosis of both TMD and fibromyalgia disorders. The most common diagnosis of TMD in patients with fibromyalgia is masticatory myofascial pain (MP). Patients with fibromyalgia often have headaches and facial pain, reflecting the overlap between the two. Fibromyalgia pain is usually much more severe than the pain seen in patients with myofascial pain and is spread over a larger body area.”
Doi numarası: https://doi.org/10.32739/uha.id.48193
