Session Information
Session Title: AA 2022 Posters - Pain and Spine Medicine
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Michele Luu, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Case Diagnosis: Atypical jaw pain relieved radiofrequency ablation of C3, C4, C5 medial branches.
Case Description: A 52-year-old female presented with right sided jaw pain for 2 years. She had a complex history significant for cervical spondylosis, cervical radiculopathy, cervicogenic headache, myofascial pain, fibromyalgia, CRPS type 1, osteonecrosis of the jaw, and endentulousness. The jaw pain was a constant 8/10 pain in the right side of her jaw that radiated down the neck and into her ear. Talking, eating, wearing glasses, and pressure to the area made the pain worse. Conservative management with heat and cold therapy, medications, and swimming in a pool mildly alleviated her symptoms. She denied any numbness, paresthesias, or weakness in her jaw or face. She had seen ENT in the past who referred her to an oral surgeon for TMJ, however the oral surgeon ruled out TMJ as the cause for her pain.
Setting: Outpatient Pain Clinic
Assessment/Results: MRI C spine revealed multilevel degenerative disc disease with chronic C6-7 bulge. As conservative management was not efficacious for pain control she underwent diagnostic right C3, C4, C5 medial branch blocks. Following the diagnostic block she noted 100% improvement of her chronic jaw pain. Confirmatory blocks and subsequent radiofrequency ablation also provided 100% improvement of her chronic jaw pain.
Discussion: The medial branch of the dorsal ramus is known to innervate the zygopophoseal joints involved in neck pain due to cervical spondylosis. No literature thus far describes any medial branch contribution to the mandible or temporomandibular joint. This is a novel case of patient who was treated with cervical radiofrequency ablation of C3, C4, C5 medial branches for neck pain with incidental improvement of her atypical jaw pain.
Conclusion: This is a novel case of atypical jaw pain that improved with radiofrequency ablation of C3, C4, C5 medial branches.
Level of Evidence: Level V
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Luu M, Poliak-Tunis M. Atypical Jaw Pain Relieved by Cervical Radiofrequency Ablation: A Case Report [abstract]. PM R. 2022; 14(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/atypical-jaw-pain-relieved-by-cervical-radiofrequency-ablation-a-case-report/. Accessed September 7, 2024.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2022
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/atypical-jaw-pain-relieved-by-cervical-radiofrequency-ablation-a-case-report/