Somatosensory and psychosocial profile of patients with painful temporomandibular joint clicking

Background: Determining the somatosensory and psychosocial profile of patients with painful temporomandibular joint (TMJ) clicking can help to understand the pain mechanisms in cases of TMJ clicking. Objective: To characterise the somatosensory and psychosocial profile of patients with painful TMJ clicking when compared to patients with painless TMJ clicking and healthy control group. Methods: Somatosensory and psychosocial functions were assessed in 90 individuals: patients with painful TMJ clicking (n = 30); patients with painless TMJ clicking (n = 30); and healthy controls (n = 30). Somatosensory profile included: mechanical pain threshold (MPT); wind-up ratio (WUR); pressure pain threshold (PPT); and conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Psychosocial profile included some questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Pain Vigilance-Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ); Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS); Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK); Perceived Stress (PSS); and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). All variables were compared among all groups. Results: Higher values of MPT and WUR; lower PPT; less efficient CPM; and higher scores of PSQI, PVAQ, PCS, and TSK were found in patients with painful TMJ clicking when compared to the other two groups (P <.001). Patients with painless TMJ clicking showed lower PPT and higher scores of PVAQ and TKS than the healthy control group. PSS and STAI data had no differences. Conclusion: Patients with painful TMJ clicking had abnormalities in the somatosensory profile, with a significant somatosensory gain of function (more sensitive) to mechanical pain tests and less efficient CPM. Poor sleep quality along with higher levels of hypervigilance, pain catastrophising, and kinesiophobia were features of psychosocial profile of these patients.