HealthPartners recruiting patients for a study on jaw pain

Research will evaluate web-based coaching to self-manage pain

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — HealthPartners Institute is recruiting patients for a study on treatment for temporomandibular disorders (TMD), which causes problems with the jaw and the muscles that control it. TMD affects as many as 10 million Americans, is more common among young people and is at least twice as prevalent among women compared to men according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). Causes include grinding or clenching teeth, stress, arthritis in the joint or injury to the jaw or muscles in the neck or head.

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) made research on pain conditions among the highest priorities due to its high prevalence, functional limitations, missed work, opioid dependency, and high health care costs. Recently, there have been online and health coaching programs to help patients manage chronic conditions. However, there is limited research on their application to chronic pain, and no research with TMD pain.

HealthPartners study will evaluate a self-management program for TMD pain titled Personalized Activated Care and Training (PACT). PACT is a web-based, eight week program that uses cognitive-behavioral strategies to help patients reduce and prevent chronic pain.

“As we look for ways to reduce the overuse of prescription pain killers, we hope this study will help establish evidence for approaches that empower patients to engage in self-management to prevent chronic pain long-term to minimize the need for ongoing treatment,” said James Fricton the principal investigator of the study.

HealthPartners researchers will begin recruiting 80 patients with TMD pain in June. Half will participate in the PACT program, the other half will participate in traditional self-care consisting of resting the jaw and encouraging healing such as soft diet, heat/cold, analgesics, and oral habit reduction. People who are interested can contact Allison Helm at 952-883-6076.

The two-year study is funded by a $932,000 grant from the NIDCR. This research is supported by the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U01DE025609. This content is solely the responsibility of HealthPartners Institute and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.