title: Manual physical therapy interventions and exercise for patients with temporomandibular disorders.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcome of a series of consecutive patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) who were treated with manual physical therapy interventions and exercise. Consecutive patients with the clinical presentation of TMD completed several self-report measures and underwent a standardized historical and physical examination. Following the examination, patients received a multimodal treatment approach incorporating manual physical therapy and exercise. All self-report questionnaires were completed at a 2-week follow-up. Paired t-tests were performed between the baseline and 2-week follow-up scores. The mean TMD Disability Index scores were 32.1% (15.4%) at baseline and 18.3% (12.5%) at the 2-week follow-up, representing an improvement of 13.9% (CI: 8.2%, 19.5%) (p < 0.05). Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) scores improved 3.1 points (CI: 2.3, 3.9) (p < 0.05). These results suggest that patients with TMD who are treated with a rehabilitation program including manual physical therapy interventions plus exercise, with or without iontophoresis with dexamethasone, can demonstrate clinically meaningful improvements in disability and overall perceived change in a relatively short period of time.
authors.affiliation: Newsome Physical Therapy Center, Plainfield, Illinois, USA. niupt2k@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Eric S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Furto
authors.forename: Joshua A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cleland
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Whitman
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Olson
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007478:Iontophoresis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003907:Dexamethasone