European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Aim:To compare the efficacy of conventional therapy over combination of Therapeutic Ultrasound & Conventional therapy in management of Myofascial pain patients.
Keywords: Myofascial Pain Dysfunction Syndrome (MPDS), Therapeutic Ultrasound, Temporomandibular disorders, Orofacial Pain, Combination Therapy
Materials and Methods:
The present randomized comparative study was conducted on 20 patients who came to the Out Patient Department of our institute with a complaint of Myofascial pain.All the patients were evaluated for pain over TMJ area and muscles of mastication on a visual analog scale (VAS), maximum inter incisal distance was measured by Vernier caliper. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups each comprising of 10 patients. Group I
patients received conventional therapy while Group II patients received combination of Conventional therapy and Therapeutic Ultrasound. Descriptive Analysis of the dataset was carried out to obtain data estimates and all the variables i.e. Mouth opening (MO), Pain recorded as per visual analogue scale on TMJ, Masseter (M) and lateral pterygoid (LP) muscles in nature except the gender of the patient for which frequencies were observed. The means of the differences between the values of the two groups were compared using Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test/ Mann Whitney U-test.
Results – A significant pain reduction was found in the patients who were given Ultrasound massage therapy (p – 0.003). There was a decrease in pain over TMJ area, tenderness over Masseter and lateral pterygoid and mouth opening was improved which was statistically significant. This therapy appears to be effective in pain reduction in Myofascial Pain Dysfunction Syndrome.
Conclusion–US massage therapy appears to be useful in relieving pain and improves subsequent mouth opening, and hence can be considered as a valuable aid in managing Myofascial pain. Thus, US massage therapy serves as a potent and independent therapeutic modality in Myofascial Pain Dysfunction Syndrome.