Body pain maps improve the report of painful complaints in patients with orofacial pain

Sep 8, 2026

Assessing pain complaints is essential for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment in orofacial pain. This study compared the frequency of reported pain complaints from 532 patients with the pain sites marked on body pain maps. Nine anatomic regions were evaluated and sensitivity, specificity, and kappa were calculated, using body map drawings as the reference standard. Results showed higher pain prevalence in women, with key differences below the neck. Body pain maps improved identification of additional pain complaints during anamnesis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Summary

Background and objectives

Method

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

Pain assessment in orofacial pain

Rationale for body pain maps

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Rev Dor. São Paulo, 2012 jan-mar;13(1):09-13 Body pain maps improve the report of painful complaints in patients with orofacial pain* Mapas de dor corporal aprimoram os relatos das queixas dolorosas em pacientes com dor orofacial Ana Lúcia Franco1, Gabriel Henrique Farto Runho2, José Tadeu Tesseroli de Siqueira3, Cinara Maria Camparis4. * Received from Department of Dental Materials and Prosthodontics. Araraquara Dental School (UNESP) . Araraquara, SP. SUMMARY BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Assessing patients´ pain complaints is essential for determining adequate diagnosis and therapeutic interventions in orofacial pain (OFP). Thus, the aim of this study was to verify the frequency of reported pain complaints compared to those marked on patients´ body pain maps. METHOD: Data were collected from the Orofacial Pain Clinic archives (532 patients) of the Orofacial Pain Clinic, Araraquara Dental School. All individuals answered a questionnaire to report their pain complaints and completed a body map indicating their pain areas. The frequency of reported pain complaints was compared to the frequency of painful sites identified on body maps. Nine anatomic regions were considered: head, face, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, back, and legs. In addition, sensitivity, specificity and kappa values were calculated comparing the pain reports to body pain drawings, the latter being considered the golden standard. RESULTS: Mean age of total sample was 33.5 ± 13.8 1. Graduate Student in Oral Rehabilitation - PhD Program Araraquara Dental School of Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Araraquara, SP, Brazil. 2. General Dentist. Araraquara, SP, Brazil. 3. Teacher Orofacial Pain Clinic, Dentistry Division, Hospital das Clinicas, Medical School of Universidade de São Paulo (USP) . São Paulo, SP, Brazil. 4. Teacher Department of Dental Materials and Prosthodontics of Araraquara Dental School of Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Araraquara, SP, Brazil. Correspondence to: Ana Lúcia Franco, M. D. Rua Humaita, 1680 – Centro 14801-903, Araraquara-SP. Phone: 55 16 3301-6412. Fax: 55 16 3301-6406. E-mail: [analu.franco@hotmail.com](analu.franco@hotmail.com) c Sociedade Brasileira para o Estudo da Dor years, 33.9 ± 13.9 for females and 31.7 ± 13.1 for males. Higher prevalence of pain was observed among female patients. For both genders, the regions of greater pain reports were located in the upper body areas and a significant difference between pain reports and pain drawings was observed for body regions below the neck. Body pain maps demonstrated superiority against pain reports in assessing pain complaints during anamnesis. CONCLUSION: Major pain reports were not an effective method to identify all pain complaints because body maps showed the presence of additional pains in OFP patients. Keywords: Drawings, Facial pain, Pain, Self-report, Temporomandibular joint. RESUMO JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: Identificar as queixas dolorosas dos pacientes é essencial para determinardiagnósticos e intervenções terapêuticas adequadas em dor orofacial (DOF). Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foiverificar a frequência das queixas de dor relatadas comparando-as àquelas marcadas pelos pacientes em mapas de dor. MÉTODO: Os dados foram coletados dos prontuários de 532 pacientes da Clínica de Dor Orofacial da Faculdade de Odontologia de Araraquara. Os indivíduos responderam a um questionário informando suas queixas de dor e completaram um mapa corporal indicando as áreas dolorosas. A frequência dos relatos foi comparada à frequência dos locais identificados nos mapas. Foram consideradas nove regiões anatômicas: cabeça, face, pescoço, ombros, braços, tórax, abdômen, costas epernas. Também foram calculados sensibilidade, especificidade e valores kappa comparando os relatos de doraos mapas, os últimos considerados padrão-ouro. 9 RESULTADOS: A média etária da amostra foi de 33,5 ± 13,8 anos, 33,9 ± 13,9 anos

FAQs

What was the main purpose of this study?

To compare the frequency of pain complaints reported by patients with the pain areas marked on body pain maps in individuals with orofacial pain.

How were pain complaints assessed?

Patients completed a questionnaire for their pain complaints and also filled out body pain maps indicating pain areas, which were evaluated across nine anatomic regions.

What were the key findings regarding reported pain versus pain maps?

Body pain maps were superior to self-reports during anamnesis, revealing additional pain areas not captured by the chief pain report.

Sep 8, 2026

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