A study from 2013 looking at over 4,000 patients found a “significant association between Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) symptoms and Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD).” A separate 2009 study found that roughly 75% of patients with OSA have chronic pain related to TMD.
Sleep is an important biological process for our body’s survival and performance. People who have poor sleep or sleep deprivation have higher risks of:
Increased sensitivity to pain
Inability for the body to heal
Increased risk for illness/disease
Anyone who has poor sleep will have higher chance of more pain, and anyone with chronic pain has a higher chance of poor sleep. It is a continuous bidirectional loop involving sleep and pain. The medical literature has reported that people with sleep disorders (such as snoring, insomnia, or sleep apnoea), have reported higher findings of headaches, migraines and spontaneous pain. Treating sleep disorders and getting people to sleep properly has shown reduction in pain.
Please watch the following video to learn more about the TMJ and airways.