Masseter muscle sonographic features as indices for evaluating efficacy of massage treatment.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to clarify the sonographic features of the masseter muscle as indices for judging the efficacy of massage treatment.


METHODS
Fifteen patients with temporomandibular disorder (10 with unilateral and 5 with bilateral muscle pain) underwent massage treatment alternately on the bilateral masseter and temporal muscles with an oral rehabilitation robot. Sonography was performed before and after treatment, and the masseter thickness and existence of anechoic areas were evaluated.


RESULTS
The thickness on the symptomatic side in the unilateral group significantly decreased after treatment. Anechoic areas were shown in 20 muscles (66.7%) before treatment, and disappeared or were reduced in size in 17 muscles (85.0%) after treatment. The pretreatment thickness was significantly related to visual analog scale (VAS) scores regarding posttreatment muscle pain and massage impression. The existence of anechoic areas was relevant to VAS scores regarding muscle pain.


CONCLUSIONS
Masseter thickness and existence of anechoic areas might be related to the therapeutic efficacy regarding muscle pain.
Ariji
Yoshiko
Y
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology,Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan. yoshiko@dpc.agu.ac.jp
Katsumata
Akitoshi
A
Hiraiwa
Yuichiro
Y
Izumi
Masahiro
M
Sakuma
Shigemitsu
S
Shimizu
Mikio
M
Kurita
Kenichi
K
Ariji
Eiichiro
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008406:Masseter Muscle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013706:Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult