Masticatory Muscle Activity Using a 24-Hour Wearable Device

October 1, 2026 updated by: Linda Sangalli, Midwestern University

Reevaluating the Role of Masticatory Muscle Activity in Chronic Myofascial Pain Using a 24-Hour Wearable Device

Patients with chronic masticatory myofascial pain (MFP) often report that stress and parafunctional oral habits aggravate their pain, consistent with the widespread belief that stress and parafunctional habits lead to increased/sustained jaw muscle activity and subsequent pain. Yet, these assumptions have never been directly tested, given the lack of tools to measure masticatory muscle activity in real-world settings. This protocol describes a prospective, longitudinal, case-control observational study that will enroll 50 patients total (25 with clinician-diagnosed chronic MFP and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy controls) from the university-based dental clinics at Midwestern University, Illinois. Consenting participants will be instructed to complete a baseline biopsychosocial battery assessing self-reported awake and sleep bruxism (using the Oral Behavior Checklist, OBC), anxiety/depression symptoms (using the Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-4), perceived stress (using the Perceived Stress Scale, PSS), insomnia symptoms (using the Insomnia Severity Index, ISI) and chronic pain intensity (using the Graded Chronic Pain Scale, GCPS). All participants will be provided a 24-hour electromyograph (EMG) device (dia-BRUXO, Biotech-Novations, Sanremo, Italy) placed on the left masseter, recording jaw muscle activity. Brief ecological momentary assessments will be sent during the 24-hour period, assessing pain intensity, self-reported parafunctional habits, stress and anxiety. The primary aim will be to establish if self-reported awake and sleep bruxism and/or biopsychosocial distress are as-sociated with EMG-recorded masticatory muscle activity. The secondary aim will test if masticatory muscle activity is associated with jaw pain intensity.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Downers Grove, Illinois, United States, 60515
        • Recruiting
        • Midwestern University
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants will be recruited from patients seen at the dental institutes at the Midwestern University, College of Dental Medicine-Illinois (Downers Grove, Illinois, USA)

Description

For the chronic myofascial pain group, the Inclusion Criteria are:

  • Patients of record of the dental institutes at Midwestern University, College of Dental Medicine-Illinois
  • Receiving a diagnosis of chronic masticatory myofascial pain according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders after a consult with the orofacial pain specialist
  • Reporting painful symptomatology on the day of the monitoring
  • Age 18+
  • Ability to connect to the Internet
  • Ability to read and speak English or Italian language

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients undergoing orthodontic treatments
  • Not on stable medication regimen on the day of the monitoring
  • Starting to wear an occlusal appliance on the day of the monitoring
  • Changed occlusal appliance within the past 3 months

For the healthy control group, Inclusion Criteria are:

  • Sex and age-matched otherwise healthy adults (without any pain-related masticatory myofascial pain upon examination)
  • Patients of record of the dental institutes at Midwestern University, College of Dental Medicine-Illinois
  • Ability to connect to the Internet
  • Ability to read and speak English language

Exclusion criteria:

  • Patients undergoing orthodontic treatments
  • Not on stable medication regimen on the day of the monitoring
  • Starting to wear an occlusal appliance on the day of the monitoring
  • Changed occlusal appliance within the past 3 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: CASE_CONTROL
  • Time Perspectives: PROSPECTIVE

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Chronic masticatory myofascial pain

Adult patients of the dental institutes, with a clinician-confirmed diagnosis of chronic (>3 months) myofascial pain.
Healthy controls

Sex- and age-matched otherwise healthy adults visiting the dental institute for recall visits, without any pain-related TMD or any other orofacial pain complaint

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-reported parafunctional behaviors
Time Frame: Baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period

Self-reported parafunctional behaviors will be assessed using the Oral Behavior Checklist (OBC), a validated instrument to evaluate frequency, type, and overall burden of awake and sleep self-reported oral parafunctional behaviors (e.g., tooth clenching, grinding, jaw bracing, and other repetitive jaw activities). Answers will be rated on a 5-point Likert scale (from 0 = "None of the time" to 4 = "4-7 nights/week"), and item scores will be summed to obtain a total score ranging from 0 to 84, with higher scores indicating a greater frequency and overall burden of self-reported oral parafunctional behaviors.
Baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period
EMG-recorded masticatory muscle activity
Time Frame: During the 24-hour assessment period

Objective EMG-recorded masticatory muscle activity will be collected using the dia-BRUXO, a single-recording channel wireless portable electromyograph.
During the 24-hour assessment period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Emotional distress
Time Frame: At baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period

Emotional distress (in terms of anxiety/depression symptomatology) will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4), a 4-item validated instrument tool inquiring about frequency of anxiety and depression symptomatology. Answers will be rated on a Likert scale (from 0 = "None" to 3 = "Nearly every day"). Item scores will be summed to obtain a total score ranging from 0 to 12, with cutoff values at 3, 6, and 9 reflecting mild, moderate, and severe anxiety and depression symptomatology.
At baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period
Stress symptomatology
Time Frame: at baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period, as well as self-reported during the ecologic momentary assessment during the 24-hour assessment

Stress symptoms will be assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a 10-item validated instrument tool that measures how life circumstances affect adaptive capacity and perceived stress symptoms over the past month.41 Answer will be rated on a Likert scale and ranges from 0 (= "Never") to 4 (= "Very often"). Items 4, 5, 7, and 8 will reflect four positive items and will be reversed-scored before computing the final score. A total score will be obtained by summing all individual item scores and ranges from 0 to 40, interpreted as mild (0-13), moderate (14-26), and severe (27-40) stress symptomatology.
at baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period, as well as self-reported during the ecologic momentary assessment during the 24-hour assessment
Insomnia symptomatology
Time Frame: at baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period

Insomnia symptoms will be assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), a 7-item validated instrument tool measuring sleep difficulties in the previous 2 weeks. Answers will be rated on a Likert scale and ranges from 0 (= "None" or "Very satisfied") to 4 (= "Very severe" to "Very dissatisfied"). A total score will be obtained by summing all the individual item scores and ranges from 0 to 28, where a cutoff of ISI >11 suggests clinically meaningful insomnia.
at baseline, before the 24-hour assessment period
Pain intensity
Time Frame: at baseline before the 24-hour assessment period and self-reported during the ecologic momentary assessment, during the 24-hour period

Assessed using the Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS), an 8-item validated tool inquiring about pain and interference within the past month. Characteristic Pain Intensity (CPI) will be calculated by averaging the scores of three items assessing "pain right now", "average pain in the last 30 days", and "worse pain in the last 30 days". Each item will be rated on an 11-point numerical rating scale ranging from 0 (= "No pain") to 10 (= "Worst imaginable pain"). The mean score will then be multiplied by 10 to yield a CPI score ranging from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating greater pain intensity.
at baseline before the 24-hour assessment period and self-reported during the ecologic momentary assessment, during the 24-hour period
Pain-related interference
Time Frame: at baseline before the 24-hour assessment period and self-reported during the ecologic momentary assessment, during the 24-hour period

Assessed using the Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS), an 8-item validated tool inquiring about pain and interference within the past month. Pain-related interference (from 0 to 10) will be calculated by averaging the scores of three items assessing the extent to which pain has interfered with "usual activities", "recreational, social, and family activities", and "ability to work", all during the last 30 days. The mean score will then be multiplied by 10 to yield a pain interference scores ranging from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating higher interference
at baseline before the 24-hour assessment period and self-reported during the ecologic momentary assessment, during the 24-hour period

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Midwestern University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 26, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-25-0038

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual data will be shared upon reasonable request to the corresponding author

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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