Effects of interferential current stimulation for treatment of subjects with recurrent jaw pain

This study evaluated the effectiveness of interferential current stimulation (ICS) to decrease recurrent jaw pain and to increase maximum vertical jaw opening. Forty subjects with either a history of recurrent jaw pain of three months' duration or of constant, chronic jaw pain that recurred within the preceding two months participated in the study. Twenty subjects received three 20-minute treatments of ICS, and 20 other subjects received three 20-minute treatments with a placebo procedure. The intensity of jaw pain and the amount of maximum vertical jaw opening were the dependent measures. Scatter diagrams indicated no relationship between the intensity of jaw pain and amount of vertical jaw opening before or after treatment. Statistical tests (p less than .05) showed no significant differences in the level of jaw pain or the amount of maximum vertical jaw opening between the ICS and Placebo Groups. We concluded that a short-term ICS treatment proved no more effective than a placebo treatment for decreasing jaw pain or for increasing vertical jaw opening.