Abstract
Pain or fatigue is frequently observed in patients with temporomandibular disorders, which may be due to abnormal circulation. In order to clarify blood flow in masseter muscle, I examined the effects of sustained clenching on muscle blood-flow rates.For this purpose I used an electrolytic tissue rheometer (RBF-221, Biomedical-Science Co., Japan), which employs a clearance method using electrolytically generated hydrogen gas for the measurement.Before commencing my experiments, I obtained the proper electrolytic parameters and then proceeded to carry out measurements in a superficial area of masseter muscle before, during and after clenching, on three males. Clenching force was limited to about 30% of maximum, in terms of effective value of electromyographic activity.Results can be summarized as follows:1. During clenching, blood flow rates varied, relative to those obtained before clenching.2. Immediately after clenching, measured values increased by 5.6 [ml/min/100g] on the average, relative to those obtained before clenching.These changes were in rough correspondence with results obtained earlier by 133Xe clearance method. The amount of increase, however, was less than those cited above, probably due to the difference in length and time of data analyzing period used in electrolytic tissue rheometer, and the amount of clenching force.
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