The functional matrix concept and its relationship to temporomandibular joint dysfunction and treatment

It is inappropriate for the nonclinician to qualitatively assess the several currently available therapies for treating TMJ dysfunction. However, it is pertinent to note that the matters reviewed in this article may assist the clinician by providing some deeper insights into the biomechanical bases of any successful therapy. TMJ dysfunction is a summary term for a broad spectrum of joint malfunctions, variously termed. These may be related to congenital, traumatic, pathologic, occupational, or psychologic factors. Similarly diverse are the symptoms of dysfunction at this joint, ranging from pain to structural disorder. The emphasis in this article on the role of mandibularly related muscles in the regulation of joint morphology and function may, with assurance, be extended to considerations of joint dysfunction. To the extent that TMJ dysfunction, in a specific patient, reflects dysfunction of the related functional matrix, then it would be correct to give consideration to directing therapeutic attention to these same muscles. Just as a skeletal unit can, and does, adapt both its structure and function to normal changes of its functional matrix, so a dysfunctional skeletal unit may confidently be adaptively return to normality following appropriate therapeutic alteration of the same matrix.