Research Update: Can Alcohol Relieve TMD Pain?
If you’ve ever described a heavy drinker as “feeling no pain,” you might be closer to explaining a scientific truth than you previously thought. Donald Nixdorf, DDS, MS, a professor and director of the Division of TMD & Orofacial Pain and Estephan Moana-Filho, DDS, MS, PhD, faculty of the Division of TMD and Orofacial Pain, are co-investigators working to uncover more about this issue with Jeff Boissoneault, PhD, associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and director of the Minnesota Alcohol & Pain Lab. They are working on a National Institutes of Health R01 grant "Effects of Pain on Laboratory Drinking Topography and Daily Drinking in People with Chronic Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD) Pain.”
“Jeff reached out to us to collaborate on his research related to alcohol use in chronic jaw pain,” Moana-Filho said. “Since both Don and I are orofacial pain and TMD specialists, this was a natural collaboration to develop.” To test the hypothesis, subjects were recruited from attendees at the recent Minnesota State Fair. Adult volunteers were given breathalyzer tests, then prodded in their hands with a sharp device, signaling researchers knew when they felt pain.
“Findings from this research project might have a direct impact on the patient care we provide in our TMD, Orofacial Pain & Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic, as it will shine a light on patient behavior regarding alcohol consumption related to pain,” Moana-Filho said. “I also see this collaboration as a starting point to have basic scientists and clinician researchers working together in developing innovative research lines that hopefully will lead to better diagnostic approaches and improved treatment options for patients, resulting in improved quality of life for them.”
Boissoneault said previous research has shown that a substantial proportion of pain sufferers — 25 to 40 percent — say they drink as a pain management tool. “One of the most interesting findings from our recent studies is that people's perception of pain relief after drinking is much larger than measured changes in pain sensitivity would suggest,” he said.
“Unfortunately, using alcohol to manage pain can actually make pain worse in the long term and increase the risk of alcohol-related problems. In the future, we'd like to use what we learn to develop new tools to help people with pain reduce alcohol-related harms.”
Moana-Filho said TMD can have dramatic implications. “The use of alcohol as a coping strategy for chronic jaw pain is an understudied topic that deserves attention, given the many implications not only for patients but also for those around them.
“I’ve been privileged to work with Don Nixdorf for more than 18 years, both as a student and as a faculty colleague, and now with Jeff as a collaborator,” Moana-Filho said. “We share similar goals in developing innovative research approaches to further our understanding of TMD pain and how to best care for our patients.”