Cranio
-
Historical Article
Sphenopalatine ganglion block: a safe and easy method for the management of orofacial pain.
The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) block is a safe, easy method for the control of acute or chronic pain in any pain management office. It takes only a few moments to implement, and the patient can be safely taught to effectively perform this pain control procedure at home with good expectations and results. Indications for the SPG blocks include pain of musculoskeletal origin, vascular origin and neurogenic origin. It has been used effectively in the management of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, cluster headaches, tic douloureux, dysmenorrhea, trigeminal neuralgia, bronchospasm and chronic hiccup.
-
A recall study of 102 myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome-temporomandibular disorder (MPDS-TMD) patients, treated with disclusion time reduction therapy from 1983 to 1991, was undertaken to determine the long-term results of this treatment on symptom reductions. The patients were asked to fill out a symptom questionnaire which used ordinal number scales to determine their disease status (frequency and intensity of muscular, joint and dysfunctional symptoms; frequency of medication and appliance use) before and after they were treated with disclusion time reduction. The statistical results indicate that discluson time reduction therapy is a highly effective treatment regimen for MPDS and that it has lasting effects on symptom reduction. In addition, the results of this recall study indicate that occlusion, and more specifically, lengthy pretreatment disclusion time, does play a primary role in the symptomatology, and most probably, in the etiology of MPDS and TMD.
-
Tinnitus has commonly been reported in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. The aim of this study was to determine if there was any correlation between arthographically verified disk displacement of the TMJ and ear symptoms related to tinnitus. ⋯ Patients with tinnitus suffered more extensive and intense pain in the oro-facial area compared to patients without tinnitus. The results of this study revealed a significant correlation between internal derangement of the TMJ and tinnitus.
-
Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) of 39 normal subjects (20 males and 19 females) and 30 female patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) capsulitis (21 lateral and 25 posterior capsulitis) were examined by an electronic algometer. In normal subjects, statistically significant correlation coefficients were obtained from the values of intra-examiners and inter-examiners in both lateral and posterior TMJ capsules (p < 0.01). A comparison with data obtained from contralateral sides failed to demonstrate significant differences. Statistically significant differences were found between the PPT of normal female subjects and female patients with capsulitis in both lateral and posterior TMJ capsules (p < 0.01).
-
The horrible disorder of trigeminal neuralgia has been reviewed in the medical literature for centuries. Various methods of diagnosis and treatment have been offered and yet, it has only been in the last few decades that two similar but different types of trigeminal neuralgias have been recognized. ⋯ It is of the utmost importance that these two neuralgias of the trigeminal nerve be accurately diagnosed as their forms of treatment are quite different. This short treatise will compare and contrast the two different types of trigeminal neuralgias, typical and atypical, and offer methods for treatment of both.