Gait changes after using a temporomandibular joint exerciser in patients who underwent lower limb joint surgery.
[Purpose] The improvements in gait of the patients with lower limb disease who used a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) exerciser were verified. [Subjects and Methods] Eleven subjects were included. Their mean age was 53.2 years. The lower limb joint angles before and after using the TMJ exerciser were measured using a gait analyzer. Before the gait experiment, the TMJ exerciser setting process and one-leg stance balance test (OLST) were repeated until the balance maintenance time improved. [Results] Because of the OLST, the mean change in the body center point after the subjects used the exerciser improved from 5.76 mm to 4.20 mm. When the TMJ exerciser was used, the joint angle range of the subjects approached that of the normal individuals. [Conclusion] According to the gait experiments, the angles of the subjects' hips, knees, and ankle joints approached to those of the normal individuals after the subjects used the TMJ exerciser; however, the results did not completely match. The changes in the hip, knee, and ankle joint angles were statistically significant, which confirm the usefulness of the TMJ exerciser.
Burteam Hospital, Republic of Korea.
Gu-Young
GY
Chung
Burteam Hospital, Republic of Korea.
Geun-Seok
GS
Choi
Department of Energy and Power Conversion Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea.
Ki-Young
KY
Shin
Burteam Hospital, Republic of Korea.
Joon-Soo
JS
Park
Body balance; Gait; Temporomandibular joint