Proprioceptive Treatment for Temporomandibular Dysfunction

Overview

The project aims to assess the effects of proprioceptive treatment through the use of hyperbolid mastication apparatus on pain intensity, muscle activity and joint mobility in subjects with TMD. A randomized, blind, clinical trial will be conducted. Volunteers aged between 18 and 40 years will be recruited, with a diagnosis of muscle- and joint-related TMD according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC / TMD), being randomly divided in three different groups: Group 1 (G1) - treated with HB device combined with tongue exercises on the palate; Group 2 (G2) - treated HB alone and Group 3 (G3) - control. Treatment protocols will be applied for 12 sessions, the volunteers will be evaluated in two stages: before applying the treatment and after the last session.

The temporomandibular disorder (TMD) are characterized by a set of clinical abnormalities involving the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and other associated structures. Several studies have supported the use of physical therapy in the treatment of this condition, especially electrotherapy, laser therapy and manual resources. However, despite advances in the search for scientific evidence, it is necessary to prove to other commonly used clinical measures in subjects with TMD, such as the use of hyperbolid, which is a feature that stimulates the proprioceptive function. Thus, this project aims to assess the effects of proprioceptive treatment through the use of hyperbolid on pain intensity, muscle activity and joint mobility in subjects with TMD. A randomized, blind, clinical trial will be conducted. Volunteers aged between 18 and 40 years will be recruited, with a diagnosis of muscle- and joint-related TMD according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC / TMD), being randomly divided in three different groups, the first group constituted by treatment with hyperbolid associated with tongue exercises on the palate, the second group consists of treatment with hyperbolid alone and the third group will not receive any type of intervention (proprioceptive treatment will be offered after the study period). Treatment protocols will be applied for 12 sessions, the volunteers will be evaluated in two stages: before applying the treatment and after the last session. The variables that will be investigated are: pain assessed using visual analog scale and algometry; muscle activity, investigated by electromyography of masticatory muscles; and joint mobility, measured by the use of a caliper. Regarding the analysis of the data will be held intragroup comparisons, considering the pre-treatment and after twelve sessions, and comparisons between groups. To this end it will be applied the Shapiro-Wilk test for checking the normality of data, and the statistical test applied consistent, then parametric or nonparametric. Is assumed a significance level of 5%.