A recent article in "Headache" dated May 17, 2011 (see abstract below) discusses migraines and PTSD. It details how these types of problems are much more common in women and suggests a sex hormonal component to the pain. The statistics are very similar to what is found in MPD (Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction) and TMJ / TMD 9Temporomandibular Dysfunction). These are also found more frequently in women and associated with Migraine, Tension-Type Headache, and Chronic Daily Headache.
this article actually finds a stronger association between PTSD and Migraine in men than women. TMD disorders are frequently found in women and are tied to "Chronic Stress" in particular. The differences between men and women make woomen more prone to problems related to chronic stress. There are estrogen receptors in the TMJoint and Testosterone is importand in healing and muscle repair.
Both men and women usually respond extremely well to treatment of migraines and chronic daily headache when fitted with a neuromuscular diagnostic orthotic. The psychological stress is obviously not treated by an oral appliance but when the pain is eliminate the psychological problems are much easier to treat. Pain is felt in the same area of the brain where we feel emotions and pain can be considered the most negative of all emotions. Elimination of chronic pain thru neuromuscular dentistry can increase effectiveness of PTSD treatment.
Headache. 2011 May 17. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2011.01907.x. [Epub ahead of print]
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Migraine: Epidemiology, Sex Differences, and Potential Mechanisms.
Peterlin BL, Nijjar SS, Tietjen GE.
Source
From the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA (B.L. Peterlin and S.S. Nijjar); Department of Neurology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA (G.E. Tietjen).
Abstract
Migraine is a common, often disabling disorder associated with a significant personal and societal burden. The presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may increase this disability substantially. Migraine and PTSD are both up to 3 times more common in women than in men. The divergence in prevalence rates of migraine and PTSD that occurs between the sexes after puberty suggests that gonadal hormones play an important role. In addition, the preponderance of PTSD in women may be related to their higher rates of interpersonal trauma, the most common cause of PTSD. However, recent data suggest that although the odds of PTSD are increased in both women and men with episodic migraine, this association is stronger in men than women. In this paper, we examine the epidemiology of PTSD and migraine, with an emphasis on the known sex differences. We then discuss the neurobiological changes associated with PTSD, the current hypotheses for the mechanisms relating PTSD and migraine, and the treatment implications of these findings.
© 2011 American Headache Society.
PMID:
21592096
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
