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Because TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction) is so painful, many people suffering TMJ end up being diagnosed with fibromyalgia.<\/p>\nBecause TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction) is so painful, many people suffering TMJ end up being diagnosed with fibromyalgia.<\/p>\n
Sometimes Fibromyalgia does coexist with TMJ, but sometimes it\u2019s a misdiagnosis.<\/p>\n
In response to the overlap of these conditions, a team of American researchers decided to find out whether fibromyalgia increases the vulnerability of TMJ sufferers to pain and whether it changes the way their brains process pain.<\/p>\n
They were also wondering whether those who ended up developing fibromyalgia had more sensitivity to pain than other TMJ patients.<\/p>\n
In their study, they measured their pain sensitivity after repeated applications of heat, and the duration of the pain they experienced after applications of heat.<\/p>\n
Contrary to what they expected, all participants showed approximately the same pain threshold, suggesting that TMJ and fibromyalgia did not increase their participant’s sensitivity to pain.<\/p>\n
However, all TMJ patients, those with and without fibromyalgia, said that the pain persisted for a long time after the application, something the healthy volunteers did not experience.<\/p>\n
To the researchers, the suggested that that the pain processing mechanisms in the brains of both TMJ and fibromyalgia sufferers had been altered, which is a condition called central pain sensitization.<\/p>\n