RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at comparing perilaryngeal pressure pain thresholds (PPT) among asymptomatic women, women with bruxism, and women with odynophonia. DESIGN: Observational cross-sectional study. METHODS: Eighty-four women whose age mean was 23.75 (SD, 3.02) years were grouped according to inclusion and exclusion criteria into a group of asymptomatic women (G1), another group of women with bruxism (G2), and another of women with odynophonia (G3). Palpation was used to identify regions of interest for this study, and an analog algometer was used to evaluate perilaryngeal PPT in the previously localized regions. Each PPT evaluation was done twice. RESULTS: G1 PPT mean were between 1.35 (SD, 0.20) and 2.29 (SD, 0.28) kg/cm2, G2 PPT mean were found between 0.85 (SD, 0.12) and 1.78 (SD, 0.23) kg/cm2, and G3 PPT mean were located between 0.71 (SD, 0.11) and 1.45 (SD, 0.19) kg/cm2. Differences were observed between PPT in the three groups evaluated (P < 0.05). The intra-evaluator agreement between the evaluations performed fluctuated between 60.71% (κ = 0.51) and 92.86% (κ = 0.91). CONCLUSIONS: There are significant differences between the perilaryngeal PPT of asymptomatic women, women with bruxism, and women with odynophonia. Asymptomatic women had the highest PPT, while odynophonia sufferers had the lowest.
