Changes in mandibular dynamics and the mandibular muscular synergistic chain after dry needling and TENS in patients with TMD

Abstract

Background: Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) treatment with the dry needling technique has not been thoroughly investigated. This report evaluated its effectiveness through Surface Electromyography (sEMG) and BioPak.

Clinical presentation: A 57-year-old female patient with severe TMD who was previously treated with a relaxing plane device without success was treated once using the dry needle technique in the anterior portion of the lateral pterygoid, medial pterygoid, and anterior portion of the temporalis and masseter muscles. During the needling, a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) was applied, producing neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES).

Clinical Relevance: It is important to develop new techniques for complicated cases of TMD; therefore, the dry needling technique plus NMES could be a good alternative for restoring normal muscular synergy of the mastication muscles.

Conclusion: A relief of TMD symptoms and biomechanical stability was found. The use of combined sEMG and BioPak provides reliable measurements.