EFFECTIVENESS OF CORRECTION OF SYMPTOMS OF MYOFASCIAL PAIN SYNDROME IN PERSONS WITH TEMPO-MANDIBULAR JOINT DYSFUNCTION BY PHYSICAL THERAPY MEASURES

Abstract

Purpose is to determine the corrective effect of the developed physical therapy program on the indicators of myofascial pain syndrome in persons with of the temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Material. 100 people were examined. The comparison group consisted of 35 people without burdened dental status. Group 1 consisted of 33 people with painful dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint, whose symptoms were corrected by wearing individually made splints on the lower jaw. Group 2 consisted of 32 individuals with temporomandibular joint pain dysfunction who wore individual relaxing splints and underwent a three-month physical therapy program. It included therapeutic exercises with the OraStretch® Press System, exercises for the face, neck, cervical region, back, breathing exercises, relaxation exercises; massage course; electromyostimulation of the muscles of the maxillofacial area; proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation of masticatory muscles, neck muscles; kinesiological taping; progressive muscle relaxation according to Jacobson. The result was assessed by the dynamics of palpation of the tissues of the face and neck, palpation of the structures of the temporomandibular joint according to the Rocabado pain map, measurement of the chin-chest, ear-shoulder distance, and manual muscle testing. Results. In the patients, signs of myofascial disorders were determined in the form of palpable changes in the area of the masticatory muscles, the front surface of the neck and the cervical spine, which was supported by the results of palpation of the structures of the temporomandibular joint according to the Rocabado pain map, the results of measuring the chin-chest, ear-shoulder distance, manual muscle testing. The complex physical therapy program demonstrated a statistically significant better effect (p<0.05) on the studied indicators compared to the initial data. A group of patients who underwent rehabilitation with the use of passive splint therapy did not demonstrate an effect on indicators of myofascial dysfunction; the achieved improvement according to the studied parameters of the orofacial zone were statistically significantly worse than the obtained indicators of the developed and implemented physical therapy program. Conclusions. Means of physical therapy improve the effectiveness of dental orthopedic interventions, therefore, it is advisable to use them to increase the effectiveness of correction, reduce the severity of pathological signs, and improve functioning in patients with painful dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint.