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In
contrast to studies that classify persons with TMD pain purely
on the basis of their physical signs and symptoms, it is possible
to classify cases based on the degree or pattern of their pain-related
disability.
For example,
based on their responses to the Multidimensional Pain Inventory
(Kerns
et al., 1985), TMD pain patients (as well as persons with
other chronic pain conditions) can be divided into groups described
as "dysfunctional," "interpersonally distressed,"
or "adaptive copers" (Rudy
et al., 1989; Turk
and Rudy, 1990). In clinical trials, it has been found that
certain types of interventions may be differentially effective
for each of these groups (Turk,
1990).
The Graded
Chronic Pain Scale, a measure of pain impact and disability (Von
Korff et al., 1992b), has also proved useful for tailoring
interventions to TMD patients based on the presence or absence
of significant pain-related disability (Dworkin
et al., 2002a; Dworkin
et al., 2002b). In population-based studies, the Graded
Chronic Pain scale can also be used, in combination with case
definitions based on pain or clinical signs, for describing the
impact of various pain conditions, including TMD (Cote
et al., 2000; Elliott
et al., 2002).
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