Clinical signs in the jaw and neck region following whiplash trauma—A 2‐year follow‐up

Abstract

Background: Pain in the orofacial region is often reported after whiplash trauma.However, prospective studies evaluating clinical signs related to orofacial pain and disability in whiplash populations are rare. The aim of the present study was to evaluate clinical signs related to pain and dysfunction in orofacial and neck regions after whiplash trauma, in a short-and long-term perspective. Methods:In total, 84 cases (48 women) diagnosed with neck distortion after a car accident and 116 controls (68 women) were examined within 1 month, and 49 cases (27 women) and 71 controls (41 women) were re-examined 2 years later.Outcome measures were pain on palpation of jaw and neck muscles and maximal jaw opening. Analysis was performed using mixed-models.Results: Cases and women were at higher risk for pain on palpation of jaw muscles (OR:7.7; p < 0.001 and OR:3.2; p = 0.010 respectively) and neck muscles (OR:12.7; p < 0.001 and OR:2.9; p = 0.020 respectively) but with no significant effect of time. Cases and women also had lower maximal jaw opening (−3.1; p = 0.001 and −3.3; p = 0.001 respectively). There was no significant time effect, but a significant interaction between cases and time (2.2; p = 0.004). Conclusion:Individuals with a whiplash trauma present a higher risk for pain on palpation in jaw and neck muscles both in a short-and long-term perspective, but show normal jaw movements. No time effect suggests that cases do not spontaneously improve nor get worse. Investigating pain on palpation in the jaw and neck muscles after whiplash trauma can identify individuals at risk for developing long-term orofacial pain and dysfunction.Significance: Orofacial pain is often reported after whiplash trauma but most previous studies concerning orofacial pain in whiplash populations have been questionnaire studies. Cases with a previous whiplash trauma and women, in general, had higher risk for pain on palpation in the jaw and neck region.Investigating pain on palpation after a whiplash trauma can help to identify individuals at risk of developing long-lasting pain in the orofacial region.

Whiplash trauma did not predict jaw pain after 2 years: an explorative study

“…Having experienced a whiplash trauma 1 month earlier did not however predict further development of jaw pain from the 1-month post-trauma baseline over a 2-year period. Furthermore, in a subsample of this study population, there was no time effect seen for pain on palpation of the jaw or neck muscles between the 1-month baseline after the whiplash trauma and the 2-year follow-up [ 26 ]. Taken together, this suggests that jaw pain and disability develop in the early acute stage after whiplash trauma and can be detected already within a month of trauma.…”