Ambulatory Electromyogram Activity in the Upper Trapezius Region: Patients With Muscle Pain vs. Pain-free Control Subjects

Study Design: This study compared the ambulatory electromyogram activity of persons reporting pain in the shoulder and cervical regions with an equal group of persons not reporting such pain. Ambulatory electromyogram data were obtained over 3-day periods. In addition, all participants completed several standard psychological questionnaires. Objectives: The results were analyzed with inferential statistics to determine whether subjects reporting significant pain in the shoulder and cervical regions had greater ambulatory electromyogram activity than an equal number of subjects not reporting pain. Summary of Background Data: Considerable controversy exists regarding the role of muscle activity in the etiology and maintenance of muscle pain disorders. Given the availability of ambulatory recording devices that can provide a detailed record of muscle activity over an extended period of time, the present research was conducted to determine whether persons reporting shoulder and cervical pain could be differentiated from a group of normal subjects. Methods: All subjects (N = 20) completed a battery of tests with standardized psychometric instruments and then were fitted with ambulatory electromyogram monitors to record electromyographic activity of the upper trapezius region of the dominant side; the time, duration, and amplitude of electromyogram activity greater than 2 μV was recorded. The monitors were worn during normal working hours (mean, 6.2 hours per day) over 3 consecutive days. In addition to wearing the monitors, all subjects completed hourly self-ratings of perceived muscle tension during the recording periods. Results: As expected, subjects with muscle pain reported significantly more pain (mean, 4.9) than did the normal control subjects (mean, 0.9), t(15) = 3.29, P \u3c 0.01. However, patients with muscle pain did not have greater average electromyogram activity (mean, 6.4 μV) over the 3-day period as compared to the normal controls (mean, 7.1 μV), t(18) = -0.25, P \u3c 0.80. Self-monitoring of perceived muscle tension also did not reveal differences between pain subjects and the normal control subjects (P \u3c 0.75). Conclusions: Ambulatory measurements of electromyogram activity did not differentiate persons reporting upper trapezius or cervical pain from those that did not report such pain. Persons reporting pain are also not distinguishable from normal control subjects on a variety of self-report measures. These results raise questions regarding the role of ambulatory electromyogram recordings in the evaluation and treatment of muscle pain disorders

Associations between tooth wear and dental sleep disorders : A narrative overview

Objectives Tooth wear is a common finding in adult patients with dental sleep disorders. The aim of this paper was to review the literature on the possible associations between tooth wear and the following dental sleep disorders: sleep-related oro-facial pain, oral moistening disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and sleep bruxism. Methods A PubMed search was performed on 1 June 2018 using MeSH terms in the following query: Tooth Wear AND (Facial Pain OR Temporomandibular Joint Disorders OR Xerostomia OR Sialorrhea OR Gastroesophageal Reflux OR Sleep Apnea Syndrome OR Sleep Bruxism). Results The query yielded 706 reports on tooth wear and the mentioned dental sleep disorders. Several associations between tooth wear and the dental sleep disorders were suggested in the literature. It could be concluded that: (a) tooth wear is associated with dental pain and/or hypersensitivity; (b) oral dryness is associated with tooth wear, oro-facial pain and sleep bruxism; (c) GERD is associated with tooth wear, oro-facial pain, oral dryness, OSAS and sleep bruxism; (d) OSAS is associated with oral dryness, GERD and sleep bruxism; and (e) sleep bruxism is associated with tooth wear. Conclusions Tooth wear is associated with the dental sleep disorders oro-facial pain, oral dryness, GERD and sleep bruxism. The dental sleep disorders are interlinked with each other, which leads to indirect associations as well, and makes the consequences of each single condition difficult to disentangle. Knowledge of these associations is clinically relevant, but more research is needed to confirm their validity.Peer reviewe

In Vitro Studies Evaluating Leaching of Mercury from Mine Waste Calcine Using Simulated Human Body Fluids

In vitro bioaccessibility (IVBA) studies were carried out on samples of mercury (Hg) mine-waste calcine (roasted Hg ore) by leaching with simulated human body fluids. The objective was to estimate potential human exposure to Hg due to inhalation of airborne calcine particulates and hand-to-mouth ingestion of Hg-bearing calcines. Mine waste calcines collected from Hg mines at Almadén, Spain, and Terlingua, Texas, contain Hg sulfide, elemental Hg, and soluble Hg compounds, which constitute primary ore or compounds formed during Hg retorting. Elevated leachate Hg concentrations were found during calcine leaching using a simulated gastric fluid (as much as 6200 μg of Hg leached/g sample). Elevated Hg concentrations were also found in calcine leachates using a simulated lung fluid (as much as 9200 μg of Hg leached/g), serum-based fluid (as much as 1600 μg of Hg leached/g), and water of pH 5 (as much as 880 μg of Hg leached/g). The leaching capacity of Hg is controlled by calcine mineralogy; thus, calcines containing soluble Hg compounds contain higher leachate Hg concentrations. Results indicate that ingestion or inhalation of Hg mine-waste calcine may lead to increased Hg concentrations in the human body, especially through the ingestion pathway

Methodological quality of a systematic review on physical therapy for temporomandibular disorders: influence of hand search and quality scales

The validity of a systematic review depends on completeness of identifying randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and the quality of the included RCTs. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of hand search on the number of identified RCTs and of four quality lists on the outcome of quality assessment of RCTs evaluating the effect of physical therapy on temporomandibular disorders. In addition, we investigated the association between publication year and the methodological quality of these RCTs. Cochrane, Medline and Embase databases were searched electronically. The references of the included studies were checked for additional trials. Studies not electronically identified were labelled as “obtained by means of hand search”. The included RCTs (69) concerning physical therapy for temporomandibular disorders were assessed using four different quality lists: the Delphi list, the Jadad list, the Megens & Harris list and the Risk of Bias list. The association between the quality scores and the year of publication were calculated. After electronic database search, hand search resulted in an additional 17 RCTs (25%). The mean quality score of the RCTs, expressed as a percentage of the maximum score, was low to moderate and varied from 35.1% for the Delphi list to 54.3% for the Risk of Bias list. The agreement among the four quality assessment lists, calculated by the Interclass Correlation Coefficient, was 0.603 (95% CI, 0.389; 0.749). The Delphi list scored significantly lower than the other lists. The Risk of Bias list scored significantly higher than the Jadad list. A moderate association was found between year of publication and scores on the Delphi list (r = 0.50), the Jadad list (r = 0.33) and the Megens & Harris list (r = 0.43)