Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS): its short-term and long-term effects on the masticatory muscles

In an electromyographic study on subjects with no functional disturbances of the masticatory muscles, the duration of the post-therapeutic effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (= TENS) on the superficial masseter and anterior temporal muscle was analyzed. The myoelectric signals were registered from 20 healthy volunteers in 3 different mandibular positions. The recordings were performed before a 20-minute TENS application with the J-4 Myomonitor and continued with a sequence of follow-up registrations with increasing interval to the initial stimulation. The EMG signals underwent computer-aided analysis and were evaluated by determining the integrated values as a parameter of muscle activity, and after Fourier transformation by 7 describing parameters of the power spectrum (e.g. mean power frequency = MPF). A detailed analysis of variance of all data was used to investigate significant changes of the parameters during the observation period. Muscular response to TENS includes a decrease in muscular activity (= reduction in integrated EMG signals) and a shift in the power spectrum to higher frequencies (increase in MPF). These changes were statistically highly significant for both analyzed muscles and for all different mandibular exercises. As these reactions to TENS are contrary to muscle fatigue, the results can be interpreted as indicating that this type of therapy stimulates a change in the biochemical and physiological muscular conditions, which leads to muscle relaxation. Electromyographically, the post-therapeutic effect lasted for 2 hours in case of normal masticatory muscle activity but for more than 7 hours in case of low muscular loading. The alterations of the integrated EMG values were more persistent than those of the parameters of the power spectrum.