The Effects of End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Feedback on Thermal Pain Thresholds in Patients with Orofacial Pain Disorders

The goal of this study will be to evaluate the efficacy of diaphragmatic breathing training as a treatment modality to reduce pain sensitivity using a sample of 60 TMD patients. We believe that diaphragmatic breathing training will provoke a significant reduction in pain sensitivity in a TMD patient population as compared to TMD patients who do not receive such training. We intend to determine the validity of this therapeutic approach using a standardized breathing training method (Fried, 1987,1993).