Investigation of instant and short-term effects of manual therapy techniques on pain, balance and functional status in patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction: A randomized controlled study

Our study was carried out to examine the immediate and short-term effects of manual therapy techniques on pain, balance and functional status in individuals with Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMED). Fifty patients diagnosed with TMED were randomly divided into two groups as study (mean age: 35.72 ± 14.09 years) and control (mean age: 30.12 ± 11.69 years) groups. A single session of manual therapy was applied to the participants in the study group. Individuals in this group were evaluated before treatment, immediately after treatment, and one week after treatment. Participants in the control group did not receive any treatment during the study. Individuals in this group were evaluated twice with an interval of one week. Temporamandibular joint and neck pain severity (Visual Analog Scale), lower jaw range of motion (caliper and ruler), functional status (Jaw Function Restriction Scale), neck disability status (Neck Disability Indicator), cervical region joint range of motion (universal goniometer) and balance (One Leg Standing Test) were evaluated. Our results showed that there was a significant improvement in all parameters in the study group immediately after the treatment and one week after the treatment compared to the pre-treatment (p<0.05). In the control group, it was determined that there was no significant improvement in any parameter in the second evaluations compared to the first evaluations (p>0.05). In the comparison between the groups, it was determined that the improvement in all parameters (except balance) in the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p<0.05). The results we obtained from the study showed that single-session manual therapy applications are an effective approach on pain and functional status in the immediate and short-term in individuals with TMED.