Extracephalic Yawning Pain

Abstract

The aim of this study was to report on two patients with recurrent, paroxysmal, extracephalic pain triggered by yawning. Pain with yawning may occur in several conditions (secondary yawning pain) or develop in the absence of precipitating lesions (primary yawning pain). Primary yawning pain is normally of cephalic location. Methods used were clinical neurological examinations, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, computerized head tomography, electroencephalogram, blink reflex studies and Panorex X-ray views of the skull. The first patient had intense right shoulder pain and brief apnea for 2 years triggered by yawning. The second patient had yawning pain referred to an area of the neck where a thyroid tumour (Hürthle cell carcinoma) was later found. Neither of the two patients could precipitate their pain with imitation of yawning and neither had evidence of Eagle syndrome. Only the second patient had a history of migraine. Yawning pain may have an extratrigeminal and extracephalic distribution. It rarely serves to identify a lesion underlying the area where the pain is perceived.