Journal of dental research
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Ten normal male volunteers performed six maximum voluntary isometric jaw-closing muscle contractions within an 80-minute experimental period. Each individual contraction was sustained until maximum pain tolerance was reached. ⋯ In this study, measures of current jaw pain, muscle pain threshold, maximum active opening, and maximum lateral excursions showed no significant post-experimental changes. These results challenge the idea that sustained isometric clenching in healthy male subjects could be used as a model for chronic or even subacute muscle pain, as has been suggested by previous investigators.