Effect of a Therapeutic Exercise Program on the Functional Recovery Following Temporomandibular Joint Surgery

The purposes of this study were to assess the effect of therapeutic exercise and to offer an approach to the physical therapy and rehabilitation procedure of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) following surgery. In this research, 42 patients with TMJ surgery were assigned one of two groups. The experimental group included 21 patients who performed therapeutic exercise, and the control group included 21 patients who did not perform therapeutic exercise. Conservative therapy such as an ice pack, a hot pack, and pulsed ultrasound was applied to both groups. Treatment was applied twice a day during the admission period and, after discharge, everyday for six weeks. Visual analogue scale (VAS), incisal biting force, and joint ROM were measured before surgery and at 30 days after surgery. The results were as follows: VAS (p