Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2025
A Postoperative Evaluation Guideline for Computer-Assisted Reconstruction of the Mandible
Published on: January 28, 2020
Effectiveness of Physical Therapy in Orthognathic Surgery Patients: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled
Gonzalo Navarro-Fernández1,2, Alfonso Gil-Martínez2,3,4, Marta Carlota Diaz-Saez2,3
1Escuela Internacional de Doctorado, Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28922 Alcorcón, Spain.
Abstract:
Orthognathic surgery (OS) can present many complications that affect patients' rehabilitation. However, there have been no systematic reviews that assessed the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions in the postsurgical rehabilitation of OS patients. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the effectiveness of physiotherapy after OS. The inclusion criteria were randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of patients who underwent OS and who received therapeutic interventions that included any physiotherapy modality. Temporomandibular joint disorders were excluded. After the filtering process, five RCTs were selected from the 1152 initially obtained (two had acceptable methodological quality; three had insufficient methodological quality). The results obtained showed that the effects of the physiotherapy interventions studied in this systematic review on the variables of range of motion, pain, edema and masticatory muscle strength were limited. Only laser therapy and LED showed a moderate level of evidence in the postoperative neurosensory rehabilitation of the inferior alveolar nerve compared with a placebo LED intervention.
