Presentatör: Nikola Stanisic, dentist/ double PhD-student, Malmö university /Aarhus universitet
Background: Medical research aims to study conditions and diseases, including pain, with effective models. The Dental Impaction Pain Model is favored for studying acute pain due to its reproducibility and affordability. Chronic orofacial pain, linked to jaw joints and muscles with musculoskeletal overload, overlaps significantly with other chronic pain, making it a valuable study model for chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Aim: Using the jaw-system to evaluate the relationships between chronic pain, musculoskeletal overload and family history – Is pain intensity the effect of increased overload?
Method: A nested case-control study based on a random sample (young adults and parents) of 120 cases with orofacial pain and 120 pain free controls. Musculoskeletal- overload of the jaw system will be studied by i) questionnaires; ii) 7-day ecological momentary assessment using a smartphone application for repeated sampling of behavior in real time and in a natural environment; and iii) 24-hour assessment of jaw muscle activity using a electromyographic device.
Results: Preliminary results suggest a significant relationship between intensity of orofacial pain and the frequency of musculoskeletal overload in the jaw system. A correlation was found between parents and off-spring regarding presence of chronic pain and their musculoskeletal overload behavior.
Conclusion: The intensity of chronic orofacial pain is affected by the degree of jaw-overload. Family history can be used to risk assess chronic orofacial pain and musculoskeletal overload behavior.