J Orofac Pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Diffusion model of pain language and quality of life in orofacial pain patients.
To address the following questions: (1) Which words are preferred by different groups of orofacial pain patients to describe their pain experience? (2) Is it possible, based on such descriptions, to obtain a clinical differential diagnosis in these patients? (3) Is there any relationship between the verbal description of pain and self-rated quality of life (QOL)? (4) Can a pattern of modulation of pain language by affective variables (diffusion model) be recognized in orofacial pain patients, as it has in other chronic pain patients? and (5) If so, what might be the clinical usefulness of assessing pain language in these patients? ⋯ Although trends in patients' choice of descriptors were evident, differential diagnosis based on only a pain questionnaire was not possible in the different groups of orofacial pain patients examined in this study. The present study suggests the presence of a phenomenon of diffusion in the language of those patients who were experiencing a worsening of their QOL as a result of pain and consequent psychologic distress. This observation can be of clinical usefulness by enhancing the sensitivity of the clinician to the suffering and affective distress experienced by the patient, and it also can be helpful in refining the therapeutic approach for each individual patient.
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Comparative Study
Effect of jaw muscle pain and soreness evoked by capsaicin before sleep on orofacial motor activity during sleep.
Sleep bruxism, which is a form of orofacial motor activity (OMA), and jaw muscle pain and soreness have for a long time been thought to be mutually linked. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of clinical and experimental jaw muscle pain and soreness on sleep OMA. ⋯ This study suggests that an acute pre-sleep painful stimulus does not have any effect on OMA during sleep, but the study extends previous findings that clinical jaw muscle pain and soreness are associated with less EMG activity in the masticatory muscles.
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To determine psychosocial predictors of patients' ratings of satisfaction with improvement and subjective pain relief. This study also examined the underlying components of patient satisfaction with improvement, as assessed at follow-up. ⋯ This study is one of the first to report that the use of certain cognitive coping strategies is associated with positive outcome for patients suffering from orofacial pain. These findings underscore the importance of individual differences on behavioral and psychosocial parameters in the prediction of patients' subjective evaluation of treatment outcome.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Physical self-regulation training for the management of temporomandibular disorders.
To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a brief skills training program for the management of chronic facial muscle pain. This program of physical self-regulation (PSR) involved primarily training in breathing, postural relaxation, and proprioceptive re-education. ⋯ The findings support the use of PSR for the short- and long-term management of muscle pain in the facial region. These results are discussed in terms of the potential mechanisms by which self-regulation treatment strategies are effective for the management of these pain disorders.