People whose recurrent headaches have been diagnosed as tension-related actually may be suffering from temporomandibular muscle and joint disorder, (TMJD) a study claims.

The study, headed by a researcher from the University at Buffalo's School of Dental Medicine showed that examiners could replicate tension-headache symptoms in 82 per cent of subjects by performing the clinical examination of the temporalis muscle, which is involved in TMJD.

The study involved 583 participants, 82.3 per cent female and 17.7 per cent male who were recruited as cases from the community based on the presence of symptoms clearly associated with TMJD. Of the participants, 152 were diagnosed with tension-type headache by the examiners. The study compared the diagnostic procedures for pain and the reproduction of pain versus headache during the clinical examination. Procedures included a range of functional and orthopedic tests and standard pain sensitivity to pressure applied to the muscles associated with headache. The types of headaches considered included sub-clinical headaches, tension-type headaches and headaches exhibiting more symptoms than are accepted for tension-type headaches, such as the mixed headache, migraine or migraine-type headaches.

Richard Ohrbach, Associate Professor in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, presented the study results at the American Association of Dental Research meeting held recently in Orlando. “Because the headache is so incredibly common, it is often regarded as inevitable, and if sufferers label the pain as a headache, they may not seek help,” said Professor Ohrbach. “Or if they do seek help, the label of headache typically will propel the individual to a physician or neurologist for consultation.

Knowledge about the intersection between jaw pain and headache is not well established, and consequently, jaw pain may be ignored in the differential diagnosis.” The current study is part of an $8 million project to establish valid and reliable TMJD diagnostic criteria. Results will advance the field of TMJD research and aid clinicians in their practices.