Short-term effectiveness of the Jog-manipulation technique for temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients with limited mouth-opening -A randomized controlled trial

• Published in: Journal of the Japanese Society for the Temporomandibular Joint Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 84 - 91
• Main Authors: NAGATA, Kazuhiro, SUGAWARA, Yoshihiro, GOTOU, Mototaka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for Temporomandibular Joint 2010; 一般社団法人 日本顎関節学会
• Subjects: closed lock; jaw exercise; manipulation; mouth-opening limitation; temporomandibular disorders; クローズドロック; マニピュレーション; 運動療法; 開口制限; 顎関節症
• ISSN: 0915-3004; 1884-4308
• DOI: 10.11246/gakukansetsu.22.84

Although the manipulation technique (MAT) is a non-invasive and inexpensive treatment procedure used for the initial treatment of TMD patients with limited mouth-opening, its effectiveness has not yet been confirmed. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical effectiveness of MAT. We quantitatively compared two groups, one using the self jaw exercise (SJE) and MAT, and the other using SJE only. Among TMD patients who visited our clinic, 34 patients whose mouth-opening distance was less than 35 mm were selected as subjects, and were randomly divided into two groups using block randomization. The Jog-Manipulation technique (J-MAT) developed in our clinic was used as MAT. J-MAT has the following three combinations: the pivot closing type, the side-to-side type, and the opening type. Regarding SJE, an improved self exercise was used, in which patients pulled down post molars on both sides using their index finger according to their mouth movement. The degree of pain according to the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and mouth-opening distance were recorded at the following five points: (1) before the treatment, (2) after the treatment, (3) at two weeks, (4) at four weeks and (5) at six weeks. No significant difference between NRS pain scores was observed. Therefore, MAT has no additional effect on mitigating pain. On the other hand, a significant difference in the 2-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons between the mouth-opening distance of MAT and SJE was observed. The results show that J-MAT is useful for early improvement of the mouth-opening distance in TMD patients with limited mouth-opening.