The effect of singing on pain and psychological wellbeing in a patient population with pain-related temporomandibular disorders

• Published in: Journal of oral rehabilitation
• Main Authors: van Selms, Maurits K A, Reda, Bachar, Visscher, Corine M, Manfredini, Daniele, Lobbezoo, Frank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 16-05-2022
• Subjects: psychological wellbeing; singing; oral behaviours; pain intensity; temporomandibular disorders
• ISSN: 1365-2842

Even though singing is regarded as potential jaw-overuse behaviour, the actual evidence that underlines the idea of singing as a predisposing factor for pain-related temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is very limited.
To examine if a dose-response relationship exists between the frequency of singing and TMD pain intensity, and if singing is associated with psychological wellbeing.
The records of 1,467 adult patients with functionally aggravated TMD pain were examined. Partial Spearman correlations were used to explore for associations between singing frequency and Characteristic Pain Intensity (CPI), somatic symptoms, depression, and anxiety.
Mean age of all participants was 42.8 years (±15.3), of which 79.2% were female. Contrary to the male-female ratio, no difference was found in mean age between the response options with regard to the frequency of singing. Controlled for the influence of gender, the Spearman correlation between the frequency of singing and CPI appeared to be significant, and indicated a negative association. In addition, somatic symptoms appeared to be positively associated with the frequency of singing. However, the observed correlation coefficients (ρ = -0.073 and ρ = 0.067, respectively) imply that these are only very weak or negligible correlations. No significant associations with the frequency of singing were found for depression and anxiety.
The alleged negative influence of singing on TMD pain intensity was found to be virtually absent. Patients with TMD pain who sing frequently have almost equal scores on psychological wellbeing compared to those who sing less.