Myogenous disorders

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) involving the muscles are the most common form of TMD. Various theories have been proposed as to why masticatory muscles may become painful and lead to TMD or even influence the shift from an acute to a chronic form. No single etiologic factor has been identified, and so myalgia has been classified as “multifactorial,” which ultimately makes it more challenging to identify risk factors and their unique contributions to the disease process. Even more, this multi-domain characterization of these conditions equally challenges the transfer of these concepts to clinical care including potential prevention or early intervention. New validated diagnostic criteria, however, have the potential to clearly identify what disorders are being investigated and may lead to targeted therapeutic solutions with clearly defined outcome measures.