Massage therapy for temporomandibular pain
/Micro-post on Jaw Pain
Therapeutic effects of intra-oral and extra-oral massage, and self-care management of temporomandibular dysfunction has been demonstrated in a number of randomized control trials and systematic reviews. (Martins et al. 2016, von Piekartz & Hall 2013, Randhawa et al. 2015)
Evidence also suggests that temporomandibular disorder may be a contributing factor to cervicogenic headache, in part because of the influence of dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint on the cervical spine (von Piekartz & Hall 2013).
Intra-oral and extra-oral massage is not complicated, it can be preformed in the clinic or as self care. In its simplest form it could include working on: the masseter, medial pterygoid and the deep tendon of the temporalis.
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Research Links
Martins, W. R., Blasczyk, J. C., Oliveira, M. A., Gonçalves, K. F., Bonini-Rocha, A. C., Dugailly, P., & Oliveira, R. J. (2016). Efficacy of musculoskeletal manual approach in the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Manual Therapy.
Randhawa, K., Bohay, R., Côté, P., Velde, G., Sutton, D., Wong, J., . . . Taylor-Vaisey, A. (2015). The Effectiveness of Non-invasive Interventions for Temporomandibular Disorders. The Clinical Journal of Pain.
von Piekartz, H. V., & Hall, T. (2013). Orofacial manual therapy improves cervical movement impairment associated with headache and features of temporomandibular dysfunction: A randomized controlled trial. Manual Therapy.
von Piekartz, H. V., Pudelko, A., Danzeisen, M., Hall, T., & Ballenberger, N. (2016). Do subjects with acute/subacute Temporomandibular Disorder have associated cervical impairments: A cross-sectional study. Manual Therapy.