title: Comparison of two scales in the assessment of muscle and joint palpation tenderness in chronic temporomandibular disorders.
abstract: Following the guidelines of the Craniomandibular Index, 23 chronic patients had 42 muscle and temporomandibular joint sites palpated. Two- and four-point scales were generated in response to the patient's reactions. After 6 weeks of treatment, patients measured with the 2-point scale showed 6.39% improvement in muscle tenderness and patients measured with the 4-point scale showed a 14.99% improvement. These changes were significantly different. Correlation between scales was r = .88 originally and increased to r = .91 after 6 weeks. Results showed that the 4-point scale is significantly more able to detect clinical changes in muscle and joint tenderness than is the 2-point scale.
authors.affiliation: Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Atwood
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Talcott
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D010173:Palpation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*