Orofacial Pain: A Guide for the Headache Physician

Orofacial pain represents a significant burden in terms of morbidity and health service utilization. It includes very common disorders such as toothache and temporomandibular disorders, as well as rare orofacial pain syndromes. Many orofacial pain conditions have overlapping presentations, and diagnostic uncertainty is frequently encountered in clinical practice. This review provides a clinically orientated overview of common and uncommon orofacial pain presentations and diagnoses, with an emphasis on conditions that may be unfamiliar to the headache physician. A holistic approach to orofacial pain management is important, and the social, cultural, psychological and cognitive context of each patient needs to be considered in the process of diagnostic formulation, as well as in the development of a pain management plan according to the biopsychosocial model. Recognition of psychological comorbidities will assist in diagnosis and management planning.     

Posttraumatic Headache: A Review

There has been intense controversy about postconcussion syndrome (PCS) since Erichsen’s publication in 1866 on railway brain and spine. Headache as a result of trauma is one of the most common secondary headache types. Posttraumatic headache (PTH) remains a very controversial disorder, particularly with relation to chronic PTH following mild closed-head injury. PTH is one of several symptoms of PCS, and therefore may be accompanied by additional cognitive, behavioral, and somatic problems. PTH also is an important public health issue due to its associated disability and often refractory clinical course. While current awareness of PTH has become more prominent due to increased scrutiny given to both combat-related and sports-related head injuries, directed treatment remains a difficult challenge for physicians. Because of the frequently associated medicolegal aspects, PTH is one of physicians’ least favorite types to treat. The article reviews both PCS and PTH.     

Headache in Stroke: A Review

Headache is a common accompanying symptom in cerebrovascular diseases. Several specific conditions and etiologies are reviewed with emphasis on distinguishing characteristics. Recognition of these conditions can help identify underlying causes of these “secondary headache syndromes” and facilitate disease‐appropriate treatment.     

Lumbar Puncture Headache: A Review

August Bier, the father of spinal anesthesia, suffered and reported the first lumbar puncture (LP) headache. On August 24, 1898 his assistant, a Dr. Hildebrandt, attempted to administer a spinal anesthetic to Dr. Bier; it was never completed because the syringe did not fit the already implanted spinal needle. Bier himself suggested that continued leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through the dural puncture site was the cause of headache, a theory that has been embraced by the medical community; however, the mechanism is probably more complex. Nearly 50 years ago, J. Lawrence Pool, using an endoscopic technique to visualize the surface of the spinal cord and the cauda equina, frequently observed large collections of epidural fluid two to four days following lumbar puncture in patients without headache. Evidence that will be presented below suggests that CSF volume alterations may be the signal closest to the headache mechanism.     

Limb Pain and Headache

SYNOPSIS
The occurrence of limb pain in close temporal relationship with headache was sought in 245 (185 women and 60 men) patients. Eleven patients (4.4% three men and eight women) had referred pain at least once, in one or more limbs in close temporal relationship with headache. Usually the pain was located in the upper limbs, was concomitant with the headache but could precede or follow it. The severity and length varied between patients but was relatively stable in the same subject. It is possible that this symptom is more frequent than believed so far and that many patients are misdiagnosed.     

Sleep and Headache Syndromes: A Clinical Review

The relationship between sleep and headache has been known for over a century. Sleep represents the only well documented behavioral state related to the occurrence of some headache syndrome. Liveing in 1873, wrote about the effect of sleep in terminating an attack of headache. Bing also, noted this relationship when he wrote about early morning headaches. Gans reported a decrease in frequency and severity of migraine attacks following selective 'deep-sleep deprivation.' Dreams leading to headache have been reported. Quite obviously, headache also finds a place in the classification of sleep disorders. This very important relationship between sleep and headache is the subject of this clinical review.     

Acculturation and Orofacial Pain Among Hispanic Adults

This study examined the associations between acculturation and orofacial pain and healthcare among Hispanic adults. Understanding the effects of acculturation on Hispanic oral health may improve understanding of oral health disparities in the United States. Data were collected from 911 Hispanic adults reporting tooth pain and painful oral sores who were part of a larger study of South Florida residents conducted using random-digit dialing methodology. The survey was conducted in Spanish or English by bilingual interviewers per the choice of each respondent. Greater use of the Spanish language was associated with disparities in healthcare visits for orofacial pain, not having a usual dentist, having greater pain, increased difficulty eating and sleeping, and more depression. Respondents' and their parents' nativity (families that had been in the United States longer) and those identifying more closely to Hispanic culture were also predictive of several of the outcomes. Gender, financial status, and age, independent of acculturation, were also associated with orofacial pain, accessing health care, and pain-related loss of functioning among Hispanics. The data support the hypothesis that Hispanics with less acculturation are less able to access needed oral health care. This study highlights the need for outreach programs targeting recent Hispanic immigrants focusing on oral health care.

Perspective

This study found that lower levels of acculturation, particularly less frequent use of English, were associated with greater oral pain and depression for Hispanics adults. This emphasizes the need to provide Hispanic patients with information in Spanish and the importance of having bilingual materials and staff in dental clinics.     

Willing and Able: A Closer Look at Pain Willingness and Activity Engagement on the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8)

An 8-item version of the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8) has recently been proposed and validated. The aims of this study were to further investigate the reliability and validity of the CPAQ-8 in a new sample. Questionnaires were completed by 550 people with chronic pain (478 online survey, 72 paper survey). A demographic and pain history questionnaire was administered along with the CPAQ-8 and measures of pain self-efficacy, pain catastrophizing, psychological flexibility in pain, anxiety, and mood. In addition, 105 respondents completed the CPAQ-8 within 6 weeks to provide test-retest reliability data. The 2-factor structure of the CPAQ-8 (Activity Engagement [AE] and Pain Willingness [PW]) was confirmed and had reasonable-to-good scale score reliability and test-retest reliability. Pain acceptance as measured by the CPAQ-8 was associated with less depression, anxiety, pain interference, fear of reinjury, pain catastrophizing, and psychological inflexibility in pain, and higher levels of satisfaction with life, pain self-efficacy, and general acceptance. Furthermore, pain acceptance fully mediated the relationship between reported pain severity and emotional distress (anxiety and depression) and partially mediated the relationship between pain severity and pain interference in a structural equation model. The test-retest reliability after 4 to 6 weeks ranged from .68 for PW to .86 for AE; the overall score correlation was .81. We conclude that the CPAQ-8 is a reliable and valid measure of pain acceptance and that the 2 subscales of the measure each make an individual contribution to the prediction of adjustment in people with chronic pain.PerspectiveThe present study provides further evidence for the reliability and validity of the CPAQ-8. Support was found for the 2 related subscales, PW and AE, which appear to work in synergy to influence levels of pain interference and emotional distress in people living with chronic pain.     

Cervicogenic Headache: A Review Comparison with Migraine,Tension-Type Headache,and Whiplash

Cervicogenic headache (CEH) is a well-recognized syndrome. Proposed diagnostic criteria differentiate CEH from migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) in most of the cases. The best differentiating factors include side-locked unilateral pain irradiating from the back and evidence of neck involvement—attacks may be precipitated by digital pressure over trigger spots in the cervical/nuchal areas or sustained awkward neck positions. Migrainous traits may be present in some cases. Cervical lesions are not necessarily seen, and most common cervical lesions do not produce CEH. Whiplash may occasionally induce headaches. This is suspected when the pain onset and the whiplash trauma are close in time. Whiplash-related headaches tend to be short-lasting, admitting mostly a TTH or a CEH-like phenotype. Neuroimaging abnormalities are not necessarily expected in CEH. Whiplash patients must undergo cervical imaging mostly in connection with the trauma, as no abnormalities are pathognomonic in chronic cases.     

Fasting Headache: A Review of the Literature and New Hypotheses

Headache is a common disorder in the general population. It is often highly debilitating for the people affected and highly costly to society. Although we know much about primary headaches, little is known about secondary headaches which, however, are a frequent occurrence in the general population. A study conducted on Denmark's general population found a lifetime prevalence rate of 22% for headache forms attributed to disorder of homeostasis, including fasting headache.
The purpose of this review was to analyze literature data on fasting headache, in order to evaluate its possible pathophysiological mechanisms and to suggest therapeutic strategies. We considered only English-language articles published in scientific journals and searched for these articles on PubMed using "headache,""fasting,""Yom Kippur,""Ramadan,""hypoglycemia," and "caffeine withdrawal" as key words, with no limitations to the year of publication. In most cases, fasting headache has the same clinical features as tension-type headache and the probability of onset increases directly with the duration of fasting. Hypoglycemia and caffeine withdrawal have been especially implicated as causative factors, but much remains to be understood about this topic.     

Spontaneous Behavioral Responses in the Orofacial Region: A Model of Trigeminal Pain in Mouse

Objectives.— To develop a translational mouse model for the study and measurement of non‐evoked pain in the orofacial region by establishing markers of nociceptive‐specific grooming behaviors in the mouse. Background.— Some of the most prevalent and debilitating conditions involve pain in the trigeminal distribution. Although there are current therapies for these pain conditions, for many patients, they are far from optimal. Understanding the pathophysiology of pain disorders arising from structures innervated by the trigeminal nerve is still limited, and most animal behavioral models focus on the measurement of evoked pain. In patients, spontaneous (non‐evoked) pain responses provide a more accurate representation of the pain experience than do responses that are evoked by an artificial stimulus. Therefore, the development of animal models that measure spontaneous nociceptive behaviors may provide a significant translational tool for a better understanding of pain neurobiology. Methods.— C57BL/6 mice received either an injection of 0.9% saline solution or complete Freund's adjuvant into the right masseter muscle. Animals were video‐recorded and then analyzed by an observer blind to the experiment group. The duration of different facial grooming patterns performed in the area of injection were measured. After 2 hours, mice were euthanized and perfused, and the brainstem was removed. Fos protein expression in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis was quantified using immunohistochemistry to investigate nociceptive‐specific neuronal activation. A separate group of animals was treated with morphine sulfate to determine the nociceptive‐specific nature of their behaviors. Results.— We characterized and quantified 3 distinct patterns of acute grooming behaviors: forepaw rubbing, lower lip skin/cheek rubbing against enclosure floor, and hindpaw scratching. These behaviors occurred with a reproducible frequency and time course, and were inhibited by the analgesic morphine. Complete Freund's adjuvant‐injected animals also showed Fos labeling consistent with neuronal activation in nociceptive‐specific pathways of the trigeminal nucleus after 2 hours. Conclusions.— These behaviors and their correlated cellular responses represent a model of trigeminal pain that can be used to better understand basic mechanisms of orofacial pain and identify new therapeutic approaches to this common and challenging condition.     

针刺治疗紧张性头痛疗效的系统评价

目的　评价针刺治疗紧张性头痛 (tension typeheadache ,TTH)的疗效。方法　计算机检索Cochrane图书馆 (2 0 0 3年第 4期 )、MEDLINE(196 6～ 2 0 0 4. 3)、中国生物医学文献数据库 (CBM) (1978～ 2 0 0 3 .8)、中文科技期刊全文数据库 (VIP) (1989～ 2 0 0 3.4 ) ,手工检索 2 0 0 3年发表的其他相关中文文献。由两名评价者独立对纳入文献进行质量评价并提取资料 ,如遇分歧 ,通过讨论解决。对纳入文献用RevMen 4 . 2进行Meta分析。结果　 13篇RCT、共5 71例病人符合纳入标准 ,其中高质量研究 6篇 ,有 8篇应用了假针刺作为对照。Meta分析结果显示 :针刺组与假针刺组比较 ,在治疗结束时有效率的差异无统计学意义 [RR 1.5 5 ,95 %CI (0.97,2.4 7) ,P =0.0 7];VAS评分的合并标准化均数差值显示 ,两组在治疗结束时 ,<2月随访以及 >2月随访的治疗有效率的差异均无统计学意义 ,其WMD(95 %CI)和P值分别为 - 0.5 5 (- 1.2 0 ,0 .0 9) ,P =0. 0 9;- 0. 2 2 (- 0.87,0 .4 2 ) ,P =0. 5 0 ;- 0 . 6 5 (- 0.4 1,0 .11) ,P =0.0 9。结论　目前无足够证据证明针刺与假针刺或其他疗法比较对治疗紧张性头痛更为有效 ,尚需更多设计严谨 ,方法科学的高质量随机对照试验。