A retrospective evaluation of the impact of temporomandibular joint arthroscopy on the symptoms of headache, neck pain, shoulder pain, dizziness, and tinnitus.

Forty-three patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery for arthrogenous TMD were polled concerning the effect of surgery on the symptoms of headache, neck pain, shoulder pain, dizziness and tinnitus. Statistically significant levels of symptom reduction were recorded for all symptoms polled. This indicates that a substantial number of significant symptoms are produced by the influence of temporomandibular joint pathology on central neural processes. A model for the affect of temporomandibular joint pathology on cervical and masticatory musculature is proposed. This data implies that we cannot use muscle tenderness, hypertonicity and/or pain to differentiate arthrogenous from myogenous temporomandibular disorders. The characteristics of a population of whiplash onset TMD patients were compared to other TMD populations. The results indicate that whiplash induced TMD may differ from insidious onset TMD and even other trauma onset TMDs by prevalence of neck pain, intensity of neck pain and probability of concurrence of neck pain, shoulder pain, headache and jaw pain. These symptoms resolved within 24 hours of arthroscopic temporomandibular joint surgery indicating that the temporomandibular joint pathology was the perpetuating force behind, if not the cause of, these symptoms.