Somatosensory and psychosocial profile of patients with painful temporomandibular joint clicking

Background Determining the somatosensory and psychosocial profile of patients with painful temporomandibular joint (TMJ) clicking can help to understand the pain mechanisms in cases of TMJ clicking. Objective To characterise the somatosensory and psychosocial profile of patients with painful TMJ clicking when compared to patients with painless TMJ clicking and healthy control group. Methods Somatosensory and psychosocial functions were assessed in 90 individuals: patients with painful TMJ clicking (n = 30); patients with painless TMJ clicking (n = 30); and healthy controls (n = 30). Somatosensory profile included: mechanical pain threshold (MPT); wind‐up ratio (WUR); pressure pain threshold (PPT); and conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Psychosocial profile included some questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Pain Vigilance‐Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ); Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS); Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK); Perceived Stress (PSS); and State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). All variables were compared among all groups. Results Higher values of MPT and WUR; lower PPT; less efficient CPM; and higher scores of PSQI, PVAQ, PCS, and TSK were found in patients with painful TMJ clicking when compared to the other two groups (P