Sports Med Rehabil J | Volume 3, Issue 1 | Review Article | Open Access
Joe Girard*, Kasey Parkman and Christie Nat
Department of Orthopaedic and Physical Therapy, Franklin Pierce University, USA
*Correspondance to: Joe Girard
Fulltext PDFBackground: Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMD) is a painful condition that affects a significant portion of the population. TMD is generally considered to have a Myofascial component. Dry needling is a technique used by some physical therapists in treating neuromuscular and Myofascial pain conditions. It is not known whether dry needling is effective in treating TMD.
Objective: The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the effects of dry needling on TMD.
Methods: This systematic review indexed the following databases: Medline, CINAHL, Sports Discus, Cochrane and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). Articles were included if they examined the clinical effects of dry needling in TMD disorders. Acupuncture- based treatment, or studies utilizing non-biomedical paradigms were not included in this systematic review. Methodological quality was graded by the PEDro scale.
Results: Four studies satisfied the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. Methodological scores based on the PEDro scale were 5 to 8 out of 10. All of the included studies (100%) scored 4 or higher on the PEDro scale. DN had a significant effect on increasing pain pressure threshold (p<0.05) and decreasing pain levels (p<0.05). DN also increased pain free jaw opening (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Moderate evidence suggest that DN may be an effective and well-tolerated, short term intervention for decreasing pain and increasing function in patients with TMD. Larger studies are needed to further substantiate the effects of DN in patients with TMD.
Girard J, Parkman K, Nat C. The Effects of Dry Needling on Temporomandibular Disorder: A Systematic Review. Sports Med Rehabil J. 2018; 3(1): 1030
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