Melanie Asked:   Can severe TMJD cause burning/stinging-like pain in various places in the head/face/ears as well as  similar sensations in extremities? I also have an elevated ERthr.sed rate and heightened pain in several areas but am a little young for temporal arteritis, though am having blurred vision at times as well?

Dr Shapira response:

Melanie, never rule out Temporal Arteritis due to severe problems can be associated with it.  TMD can be related to pain, burning and stinging in head, neck and upper extremities but not directly responsible for stinging in lower extremities.

Indirectly it can be implicated due to autonomic nervous system.  An SPG block is a simple relatively non-invasive method to evaluate connection.  Lidocaine is applied topically over the sphenopalatine ganglion in the nose.  

When nociceptive inputs from the trigeminal nerve are amplified in the reticular activating system of  the central nervous system they can predispose the entire body  to lower pain thresholds.

TMD problems also have a strong correlation to anxiety disorders that also predispose patients to entire body symptoms.

Burning is a symptom that is associated with nerve irritation or neuritis.  Stinging is often seen both with myofascial pain as well as pain associated with irritated nerves.

Temporal Arteritis, Cranial Arteritis or Giant Cell Arteritis (Neck or upper quadrants) is an inflamatory condition that can lead to blindness and other serious consequences.  Being evaluated for Temporal Arteritis has no down side.  Temporal Arteritis usually affects vessels that are branches of the carotid arteries.  

These problems are considered Idiopathic or cause unknown but they are believed to be inflamatory in nature.

Common symptoms of Temporal Arteritis include unilateral throbbing headaches and tenderness of the scalp to touch.  It is not uncommon to experience flu like symptoms with Temporal Arteritis including fever, generalized aching, loss of appetite, weakness, severe tiredness and muscle pain in upper quadrants.

Vision problems include blurred vision, double vision and partial loss of vision or blindness.  An elevated Sed rate should be considered a warning sign.  While it is possible that most of these symptoms are from a TMJ Disorder it is essential that a complete medical diagnosis rule out organic disease.

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