EFFECTIVENESS OF MANUAL THERAPY, PHYSICAL THERAPY IN CONJUNCTION WITH PATIENT EDUCATION FOR TEMPOROMANDIBULAR...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Physical Therapy
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders are prevalent global health issues.
• Management often requires a combination of physiotherapy, manual exercises, education, and medication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of manual therapy and physical therapy combined with patient education for temporomandibular disorders (TMDs).

Main Methods:

• Forty patients diagnosed with TMDs were randomly assigned to two groups.
• Group 1 received home physical therapy; Group 2 received manual therapy plus physical therapy.
• Both groups received patient education and counseling, with assessments conducted pre- and post-intervention.

Main Results:

• The study compared physical therapy alone (n=20) versus a combination of physical and manual therapy (n=20).
• No significant demographic differences (age, gender, affected side) were observed between groups (p>0.05).

Conclusions:

• Physical therapy integrated with patient education is a beneficial therapeutic approach for TMJ disorders.
• The addition of manual therapy to physical therapy and education yields superior results compared to these modalities alone.