Actively Recruiting
Endogenous Pain Inhibition Deficiency in Chronic TMD Pain
Led by University of Minnesota · Updated on 2025-08-19
40
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
117 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) involve a range of conditions with varied causes, affecting a large portion of the U.S. population and posing challenges for diagnosis and management, especially in chronic cases. Despite advances in understanding TMD pathophysiology, the role of central sensitization, particularly deficient endogenous pain inhibition, remains unclear. The conditioned pain modulation (CPM) test, used to assess pain inhibition in chronic TMD pain, has produced inconsistent results due to varying testing parameters. The proposed cross-sectional study will investigate the efficiency of endogenous pain inhibition in individuals with chronic TMD pain compared to controls by applying noxious and non-noxious stimuli to facial and non-facial sites. The findings aim to clarify the impact of weaker pain inhibition over the face, how the conditioning stimulus' painfulness affects inhibition and the relationship between pain inhibition and fluctuations in TMD pain intensity.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Endogenous Pain Inhibition Deficiency in Chronic TMD Pain
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Provide signed informed consent.
- Will comply with all study procedures including daily pain ratings before and after the visit.
- Age between 18 and 74 years.
- Understand English commands to follow study procedures.
- Cases and controls matched for age within ±5 years.
- For pain-free controls: no diagnosis of common pain-related TMD conditions.
- No significant orofacial pain in the past 3 months (5 or more days in any month or any pain during the past month).
- No significant pain elsewhere in the body in the past 3 months.
- No TMD diagnosis upon clinical exam following DC/TMD criteria.
- For chronic painful TMD cases: diagnosis of myalgia based on DC/TMD clinical exam.
- Concurrent arthralgia and/or headache attributed to TMD allowed.
- Myofascial pain onset over 3 months ago, occurring more than 15 days/month for over 3 months.
- Minimum of 10 jaw pain episodes since onset, each lasting at least 30 minutes and no less than 2 hours within a day, or unremitting.
You will not qualify if you...
- History of traumatic facial injury or surgery on face/jaw, arms, or hands.
- Pain related to dental or periodontal disease.
- Pregnant.
- Medical conditions: renal failure or dialysis, uncontrolled heart disease, non-allergic bronchospasm (COPD, emphysema), uncontrolled diabetes, hyperthyroidism, uncontrolled seizures.
- Injection therapy, acupuncture, biofeedback, or TENS for facial/jaw pain within 2 weeks before screening.
- Botulinum toxin injections in head/neck area within 3 months before screening or during study.
- Major depression or psychiatric hospitalization within last 6 months.
- Treatment for drug or alcohol abuse within last 12 months.
- Current pain medication use that cannot be stopped 24 hours before visits.
- Conditions affecting pain perception: neurological or developmental disorders, neoplasm, multiple sclerosis, trigeminal neuralgia.
- Unable to provide informed consent.
- Cannot understand English instructions for sensory testing.
- Thermal pain threshold outside 40ºC to 49ºC range.
- Unable to complete at least four daily pain ratings.
- No access to electronic device with internet during study.
- Any other condition increasing risk or preventing study compliance.
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
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Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55414
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
C
Carla Campbell
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Masking
N/A
Allocation
N/A
Model
N/A
Primary Purpose
N/A
Number of Arms
2
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