A rare case of ankylosing spondylitis with severe temporomandibular joint and dental involvement

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the axial skeleton, resulting in functional deterioration. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis is characterized by bony or fibrous adhesion of the anatomic joint components, which results in limited mouth opening. Despite the high prevalence of the disease, ankylosis of the TMJ and tooth secondary to AS are rare conditions. Here, a patient with AS admitted to the outpatient clinic with a chief complaint of TMJ pain and restricted mouth opening was diagnosed with TMJ and dental sclerosis. The patient’s dental history included fracture of a wisdom tooth during an attempted extraction and difficulty in mouth opening. TMJ and dental ankylosis should be considered in patients with AS with a poor dental history and difficulty in mouth opening. For such suspected cases, a panoramic radiograph of the jaws and teeth should be obtained to detect abnormalities

Assessment of the Relationship Between Vitamin D Level and Non-specific Musculoskeletal System Pain: A Multicenter Retrospective Study (Stroke Study Group)

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D level and pain severity, localization and duration in patients with non-specific musculoskeletal pain. Materials and Methods: Patients who applied to physical medicine and rehabilitation outpatient clinics due to non-specific muscle pain in 19 centers in Turkey were retrospectively screened. Three thousand four hundred fourpatients were included in the study, whose pain level was determined by visual analog scale (VAS) and the painful region, duration of pain and vitamin D level were reached. D group was found to be D deficient (group 1) when 25 (OH)D level was 20 ng/mL or less and group D 2 (vitamin D deficiency) was higher than 30 ng/mL (group 3). The groups were compared in terms of pain duration, localization and severity. In addition, the correlations of pain localization, severity and duration with vitamin D levels were examined. Results: D vitamin deficiency was detected in 2202 (70.9%) of 3 thousand four hundred and four registered patients, and it was found that vitamin D deficiency in 516 (16.6%) and normal vitamin D in 386 (12.4%). The groups were similar in terms of age, body mass index, income level, duration of complaint, education level, family type and working status (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of VAS, pain localization and duration scores (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our study shows that vitamin D deficiency in patients with nonspecific musculoskeletal pain is not associated with the severity and duration of pain