Comparison of masticatory muscle myofascial pain in patients with and without a chief complaint of headache

Objectives: Headaches are a common complaint in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. However, few studies have compared the symptom characteristics between TMD patients with and without a complaint of headache. The aim of this study was to compare subjective symptoms and treatment outcomes between myofascial TMD patients who had a chief complaint of headache and those who did not. Methods: One hundred sixty one patients underwent comprehensive examinations and scored their pre-and post-treatment symptoms on a form (4 items assessing pain intensity and 1 assessing sleeping difficulty). On the basis of the primary diagnosis, patients were divided into two groups: myofascial pain with and without a chief complaint of headache (MPH and MP). Results: Before treatment, patients in the MPH group scored significantly higher with respect to pain intensity and level of sleeping difficulty than did patients in the MP group (jaw/face pain, P = 0.015; headache, P < 0.001; neck pain, P < 0.001, and difficulty in sleeping, P = 0.005; Mann- Whitney U- test). Patients in the two groups demonstrated similar treatment outcomes, except for neck pain. Conclusion: Significant differences in symptom characteristics and outcomes were observed between primarily myofascial TMD patients with and without a chief complaint of headache.