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Experimental pain and fatigue induced by excessive chewing
Samaa Al Sayegh1,2, Ioanna Vasilatou3, Abhishek Kumar3,4
1Division of Oral Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 4046, SE-141 04, Huddinge, Sweden. samaa.al.sayegh@ki.se.
BMC Oral Health
|July 1, 2020
Summary
Excessive gum chewing induced fatigue but mild, short-lasting jaw pain, primarily in men. This chewing model requires adjustments to effectively mimic temporomandibular disorder pain, especially in women.
Area of Science:
- Experimental modeling of pain
- Jaw muscle physiology
- Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs)
Background:
- Investigating excessive gum chewing as a model for inducing jaw muscle pain and fatigue.
- Aiming to replicate conditions similar to painful temporomandibular disorders (TMDs).
- Assessing potential sex differences in pain expression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To optimize excessive gum chewing as an experimental model for jaw muscle pain and fatigue.
- To evaluate the duration of induced symptoms for immediate jaw-motor function investigations.
- To determine if sex differences exist in pain response.
Main Methods:
- Randomized, double-blind study with 31 healthy participants.
- Standardized chewing protocol: 40- or 60-min trials with a 1-week washout.
- Assessment of subjective fatigue, pain, and functional measures using statistical tests.
Main Results:
- Significant subjective fatigue induced by both 40- and 60-min chewing trials, lasting up to 20 minutes.
- Mild pain induced only in the 60-min trial, predominantly in men.
- Increased pain area in the 60-min trial, but symptoms did not persist to the 10-min follow-up.
Conclusions:
- Excessive chewing, in its current form, is not an adequate experimental pain model for TMDs.
- The model requires further refinement to mimic TMD pain, particularly in women.
- Adjustments are needed to prolong the duration of induced pain.
