Effect of manual therapy on range of motion, pain and quality of life in temporomandibular joint dysfunction

Abstract

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD) is an important health problem that occurs approximately in 22 to 35 percent of adults. This study aims to investigate effect of manual therapy (MT) on range of motion (ROM), pain and quality of life in patients with TMJD.
Materials and Methods: This study enrolled 15 adults who were aged 21 to 54 years, including 11 women (73.3%) and 4 men (26.7%) (mean age; 37.50 ± 16.50 years). The patients were treated with MT (a-50 min. session; 8 sessions in two weeks). Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) (Hold-Relax technique) exercises were also applied. An instructed home exercises were recommended to all the patients. ROM (depression, protrusion and lateral deviation of temporomandibular joint (TMJ)) was measured before and after the manual therapy program. Pain intensity was evaluated with VAS. Short Form-36 (SF-36) was used to describe the quality of life of the patients.
Results: Significant improvements in ROM were recorded (p<0.05). Morning pain, mealassociated pain, and post-prandial pain decreased (p<0.05), while no significant differences were found in terms of preand post-therapy night pain and SF-36 scores (p>0.05).
Conclusion: MT is effective to manage TMJD decreasing pain intensity and improving ROM of TMJ.

Key words:

temporomandibular joint dysfunction, pain, manual therapy, quality of life

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