Diffuse noxious inhibitory controls in temporomandibular disorders

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(1) The first aim of our study was to determine whether or not wearing of an oral splint changes the threshold of vibration, cool sensation, warm sensation, cold-induced pain, and heat-induced pain in the upper extremities. These results indicated that a short-term wearing of an oral splint possibly inhibits some nociceptive and sensory input that is primarily mediated by unmyelinated C fibers, and those could be attributed to some modulation by changes in attentional factors at the thalamus level.(2) The second study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of afferent inputs against grasp forces in splint wearing situation, and we concluded that afferent inputs play an important role in splint wearing.(3) The third purpose of this investigation was to explore the feasibility of utilizing counter irritation with ischemic pain at a remote site outside of the head and neck region as a method for restoring muscle force in a course of physical therapy. These findings indicate that counter ir … More ritation outside of the head and neck may be useful for increasing bite force.(4) The fourth study was designed to evaluate the intra-examiner and inter-examiner reliability of measurements of masticatory muscle hardness, and to determine the bite force / muscle hardness characteristics using a commercially-available muscle meter. These findings indicate that measurement of muscle hardness provides reliable physiologic information on the masseter muscle in this setting.(5) The fifth aim of the present study was to access any changes in the muscle hardness of the masseter muscle between normal subjects and myofascial pain patients during brief sustained isometric contractions at various bite force levels, and to compare muscle hardness, especially in terms of the recovery phase, after a clenching task. Our results showed that there was no significance difference between the patients and the normal controls, while the muscle hardness increased with contraction in all the subjects. Our findings also showed that the patients had a delayed return to the baseline after the clenching task compared to the normal subjects, although an immediate increase after the clenching task was seen in all subjects. Less