Efficacy of ultrasound massage therapy as an adjuvant pain control modality in TMDs: A clinical study

Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a collection of medical and dental conditions that affect the muscles of mastication along with transmittable tissue components. Physical modality such as ultrasound (US) therapy is considered to be an important treatment to relieve musculoskeletal pain, to reduce inflammation, and to restore oral motor function. Settings and Design: It was a prospective study and was carried out in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology at Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College and Research Centre, Moradabad, to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic US massage therapy in management of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. Aims and Objective: To determine the effectiveness of US massage therapy in patients with TMDs. Materials and Methods: This study included 10 patients with TMDs, according to research diagnostic criteria (RDC), within the age group of 18–50 years. All the patients were treated with US, once a week for 4 weeks for 8 min and pain intensity was evaluated using visual analog scale, at every sitting. Statistical Analysis Used: SPSS version 22 software was used and Student's t-test value was used. Results and Discussion: A significant pain reduction was found in US massage therapy. There was a decrease in pain in TMJ from 7.30 ± 1.70 to 4.00 ± 2.53 and mouth opening improved from 40.40 ± 6.50 to 41.80 ± 5.97 which was statistically significant. This therapy appears to be a valuable physiotherapy method for pain reduction in TMDs. Conclusion: US massage therapy appears to be useful in relieving pain and improves subsequent mouth opening, and hence can be considered as a valuable physiotherapy method. Thus, US massage therapy serves as a potent and independent therapeutic modality in TMDs.