I hope everyone is going well. I for one am sick of treating in face masks… I feel like Darth Vader but it is what it is. Better over cautious than not cautious enough!

One thing I have noticed is that we are seeing a heck of a lot of headache and bruxing (clenching/grinding) episodes. So I thought this would be a good place to look at why this could be the case. Research evidence for the COVID period is a constantly changing field. Most research is currently directed at the effects, process, treatment and prevention of COVID. We should start to see some research looking at the musculoskeletal and psychosocial impact of the pandemic from a lockdown perspective over the next year or two.

Why could there be more people with headache and jaw pain?

Stress…. Global pandemic will do that! Not to mention the loss of jobs, decreased or drastically changed work, financial and health related worries, isolation, inability to travel, home schooling/return to school.
Spontaneous home office set up and working from home for both the work force, people studying and school kids.
Increased prescriptions of SSRI’s (anti-anxiety/depression medications): increased rates of anxiety, depression, stress can lead of more people being prescribed SSRI’s. Some SSRI’s can have a side effect of clenching and grinding teeth! Not everyone will experience this side effect but it is worth knowing about.
Decreased exercise - or exercising too much too quickly: Both can be contributing factors in multiple types of musculoskeletal injuries. Regular exercise is a key management tool for managing the way we process pain particularly in people with chronic headache or migraine and is also a very effective way to regulate mood …. so we don’t take out stress on out teeth and jaw!

What do you think?