Survey of Pain to Palpation of the Occipitofrontalis Muscle in Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders

Aim: The aims of this study were to survey the frequency of pain to palpation of the occipitofrontalis muscle in a TMD patient group, and to identify patients showing pain to palpation of the occipitofrontalis muscle that is also consistent with patients’ headache symptom. Methods: A total of 218 TMD patients (32.0±13.1 years) participated in this study. Patients’ symptoms, including headache, were surveyed by questionnaire. Temporomandibular joints, jaw muscles, and pericranial muscles including the occipitofrontalis muscle were examined with digital palpation. Pain to palpation (i.e. tenderness) was scored from 0 to 3 according to the patients’ response, and frequencies were calculated of pain to palpation scores for each site of the pericranial muscles. Results: Twelve patients among 218 TMD patients (5.5%) showed pain to palpation (scores of 1, 2) on the occipitalis or frontalis sites, and seven patients (3.2%) had moderate pain (a score of 2) to palpation. Among 218 TMD patients, there was only one patient whose primary symptomatic site of headache corresponded with the result of pain to palpation of the occipitofrontalis muscle. Conclusion: It can be concluded that examination with palpation of the occipitofrontalis muscle could be considered in the evaluation of TMD patients’ headache symptom when other factors have been ruled out.