[Pain syndromes of the head, neck and locomotor system--determining current status]

A small series of pain syndrome patients shows that disturbances of the head and neck motor system can lead to various pain syndromes as the vicious circle between pain and muscle tension is initiated by a triggering factor. These pain syndromes include varying combinations of the following symptoms: headache, referred otalgia, arthralgia of the temporomandibular joint, styloid syndrome, tendopathia of the hyoid bone, carotidynia, cervical dysphagia and probably most patients with superior laryngeal nerve neuralgia or glossopharyngeal neuralgia. A detailed differentiation of those syndromes is of little value for diagnostic and therapeutical purposes, because the mixed distribution of the pain irradiation does not indicate the localisation of the primary pathology. The pain syndromes of the head and neck motor system can be caused by temporomandibular joint pathology as well as by anatomical or functional alterations of the cervical spine. Acute exacerbations are triggered off by various influences such as inflammation, trauma, scarring after surgery or radiotherapy. Thus diagnostic and therapeutic measures must take into consideration both the motor system itself and any possible triggering factors. The problem frequently needs interdisciplinary co-operation. An attempt to handle the problem within the boundaries of a single discipline such as ENT, may lead to unnecessary and misleading steps. Guidelines for the management of such pain syndromes are outlined.