Abstract
Introduction:The Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is greatly prevalent in the population and can be associated with bruxism. This disorder produces several signs and symptoms. Among them, pain is one of the most important because it reduces life quality and productivity of people who have such disorder. The aim of this research was to study if massage causes pain relief and/or electromyographic (EMG) changes.Materials and methods:The subjects were chosen by a questionnaire and divided into 2 different groups. Their ages varied from 19 to 22 years. The experimental group consisted of 6 TMD patients, who were submitted to the massage treatment and 4 EMG-sessions (the 1st EMG-session occurred before the treatment and the others in the 1st, 15th and 30th days after the treatment). The control group consisted of 6 TMD patients, who were submitted to the same 4 EMG-sessions. While EMG activity was recorded, subjects were asked to keep mandibular rest position (MRP) and to perform maximal voluntary clenching (MVC). The treatment consisted of 15 massage-sessions on face and neck and in application of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for measuring pain level. The massage sessions had 30 minutes of duration and were performed daily. The EMG data were processed to obtain the Root Mean Square (RMS), which were normalized by MVC.Results:It was demonstrated that (1) RMS-MRP of the right masseter in experimental group at the 1st EMG-session was higher than at the 2nd EMG-session and (2) statistically significant reduction was found for VAS values after massage session.Conclusion:Unfortunately the sample is insufficient to draw any conclusions, therefore, more studies regarding the use of massage in the management of myogenic TMD are necessary.
Highlights
The Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is greatly prevalent in the population and can be associated with bruxism
The Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) can be defined as a neuromuscular dysfunction that results in a characteristic clinical presentation consisting of chronic headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) noises, limitation of mandibular movements, tenderness and pain in the masticatory, neck and head muscles 8
The remaining 12 TMD patients were submitted to a clinical evaluation to confirm the myogenic TMD diagnosis
Summary
The Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is greatly prevalent in the population and can be associated with bruxism. The control group consisted of 6 TMD patients, who were submitted to the same 4 EMG-sessions. In TMD patients, resting electromyographic (EMG) activity of the masticatory muscles is higher than in normal subjects, indicating a muscular hyperactivity 25. TDM and bruxism are distinct entities and there are at least 2 groups of bruxers, one with no pain and another characterized by moderate to severe pain upon awakening 9 The pain of these patients can be related to many factors, such as: nociceptive excitability , 7,26 microtrauma, fatigue , 3,20 accumulation of noxious tissue metabolites 30, protective spasms due to pain cycle 3,5 and psychological influences 5
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